Between the Earth and Sky
by AgentAva
Summary: Jinora sneaks off to Republic City, hoping to curl up with a new book in the library, but then she meets Skoochy. An odd sort of friendship sparks, but will it end in the way that they hope? Jinoochy. Completed: for now ;D
1. Introductions

Hello, and welcome to my first attempt at a fan fiction! Meet Jinora-Tenzin's oldest daughter, and Skoochy-a mere street urchin living in Republic City, and not to mention his odd crew.

Enjoy, and pleeeease review!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN LoK. as much as I love Korra and Jinora and Skoochy and everyone else, I do not have the amazing skills needed to own them. Sigh...

* * *

_Earth. Fire. Air. Water. 70 years ago, my grandfather, Avatar Aang, master of all four elements, ended the 100-year war against the Fire Nation. With help from Firelord Zuko he created Republic City, my home. According to my father, Republic City is at war. Amon, the Equalists, and the non-benders of our city have begun a rebellion against all benders. They think we have repressed them because of their inability to bend an element._

_Avatar Aang has long since passed, but the new Avatar is here—Korra. She will find a way to bring light to the darkness. She has to._

_..._

Jinora felt her skin shiver with the feeling of being alive as she made a silent descent into the empty alley beneath her. Her glider _fwip_ed shut as she glanced around carefully, not wanting anyone to see the young airbender make her landing in the middle of Republic City, a city full of benders and non-benders alike. Then the young girl set her stack of four books down on the dirty alley ground, silently saying her apologies to her friends on the floor. Careful not to reveal the air nomad trademarks of yellow and orange, Jinora held the cloak she had stolen from Asami's endless revenue of clothing over her monk clothes and felt the thick cloth weigh her small body down. Asami, the beautiful daughter of the Sato-mobile creator, Hiroshi Sato, had recently come to live with Jinora's family on Air Temple Island, and she probably hadn't realized the young airbender had swiped something from her closet just yet. Jinora couldn't help but hold back a smile as she walked out of the shadowy alley and into the streets of Republic City. Being off in the City, alone, as a young bender…Jinora wrapped the cloak tighter around herself when she thought of what her father might think when he found out where she had been instead of airbending training with Korra, and her two younger airbending siblings Ikki and Meelo.

No. Jinora shook off the thought. She was here, not only to return a book to the Republic Library, but also to show to her overprotective father that she was tough enough to face the troubles of Republic City. The airbender-in-training knew why her father had been keeping her and her younger siblings awful close to Air Temple Island—the Equalists were growing stronger every day. The Equalists was an activist group of non-benders led by Amon, another non-bender with the ability to take away a man's bending forever. The Equalists fought against the Republic City for the same rights as normal benders—they were repressed because of their inability to bend an element. If Jinora, Ikki, or Meelo lost their ability to airbend, the ability to repopulate the Air Nomads would diminish until there is once more, just one airbender left. Just like her grandfather, Avatar Aang, was 70 years ago. Jinora thought of her grandfather and the adventures he'd had around Jinora's age. No. Jinora had to be in Republic City—she had to be here.

The young girl, although she did not show it, had always had a side of her that wanted to go off and perform daring things, like the heroines in her historical fiction books did. Jinora had never shown this daring side of her to anyone before, maybe because she was afraid of it but really, it was because the airbender wasn't brave enough to go out into the world and show everyone who she was—who she wanted to be. The real Jinora inside had been locked away thanks to the Equalists…and maybe even her father.

The door of the Republic Library came into view as Jinora turned another block. The 10-year-old felt happiness take over her body at the sight of her sanctum, and a burst of air led her forward, causing an old woman behind her to lose her balance and trip into another bustling city-dweller.

A car honk sounded, too loud and too close to Jinora's ear. She turned and gasped as a Sato-mobile continued approaching her at a fast pace. "Oh my—" Jinora was suddenly frozen to where she stood, with the small stack of books in front of her, her brown eyes from her mother's side widening as the high beams of the car came closer and closer. Her father was right; Republic City wasn't safe for a girl like Jinora. Never had she felt so terrified before—this was like something in a book Jinora had read somewhere, about the ancient times and how a water tribe girl was about to be run over by a foreign Eel-Hound when—

"Watch out!" a voice shouted, and a wall sprouted from the ground in front of Jinora. She heard the sound of metal crunching against earth when the ground beneath Jinora began to tremor just slightly. Gasping for air, Jinora took back the control of her limbs, dropped her books on the ground with a _thud_, and leapt into the air just as the force of an earthbended rock jabbing from the ground propelled Jinora out of the way.

From high up, Jinora began to take in what happened, and the scene below. There was a green and blue Sato-mobile, the snout of it pushed against the wall of earth that had popped out of the ground. Smoke was beginning to rise from the scene of the crash as the driver shoved open the door and stumbled out. Jinora began to slowly float back down to Republic City, and back onto the sidewalk. She landed lightly on her feet, just so that when her toes touched the ground little tufts of dusts rose up. Jinora felt the fear ball up inside of her as her gaze fell upon the books that lay forgotten in the street. She reached out to get them when another hand, similar in size but dirtier, whipped out and slapped hers away. "What were you _thinking_?" the voice demanded. It was the same voice as earlier, and Jinora looked over to see who it was.

The first thing Jinora noted was the dirt that was littered all over the boy's clothes and face, his scowl and glittering eyes. Next, the hat that covered his dark hair, and the grungy clothes. Finally, what the boy was yelling at Jinora came to her.

"What were you thinking, just walking out in the middle of the street like that? It isn't safe out here, nimrod!"

Jinora furrowed her brow; his comment just begged to get a blast of air in the face. She jabbed a finger in the boy's direction. "Nimrod? Who're you calling nimrod? At least I'm not covered in dirt!" Never before had Jinora had an outburst like this—out of all of Tenzin's children, Jinora was the quietest and the most mature.

"It's not dirt!" he yelled back. "This, by the earthbender's definition, is a healthy coating of earth! But of course you wouldn't know, being all airy and—and…BENDY."

"Oh, is that the best you can come up with?" Jinora shot back, fury lining her face with red. She had yet to notice that the cloak once tight at her neck had come loose, revealing the dead give-away colors of orange and yellow, the one thing that had tipped off the boy that she was an airbender.

The boy growled exasperatedly at the sky. "This is what I get for saving your life?"

Slowly, everything came back to Jinora with a new kind of perspective. She glanced down and shifted her gaze to the side, the fury she once had in her now gone like the winds off the sea. "Well, thank you…I guess."

The boy tipped his hat in Jinora's direction, the gesture making her flush ever so slightly. Just then, the man driving the Sato-mobile ran up to Jinora and the boy. "Are you crazy or something? Running in front of a mobile like that? You could've been killed young lady! Where are your parents? I am taking you home right now, so—"

"Hey Pops." Judging from the look on the boy's face, Jinora thought that the boy and the driver knew each other. The driver looked over at the boy with a frown. "Hey Pops," the earthbender boy said easily. He reached out his hand. "Since I got you here, my bosses want to know when their payment will be getting to them."

The man looked flabbergasted at the sight of the boy. "I gave the money to them personally! I don't know why they need more…" his voice trailed off as Jinora jumped back into the street and collected her books. One seemed a little bent up, but other than that they were fine. She floated back to the man and boy, who were still talking; they hadn't even noticed she'd gone. Judging by the lack of interest from the boy, Jinora had to guess that he was dominating the conversation.

"Run along, Pops!" the boy was saying, and kicked the ground with his good shoes. The earth around the Sato-mobile man swiveled, turning him towards his car. Then the ground beneath him pushed him into the air, and onto the roof of the driver's Sato-mobile. The man fell in a heap, and the young airbender thought she heard the air leave him with a _whoosh_.

With that, the boy brushed the dust from his hands and turned to see Jinora trying to sneak into the library with her books. "And where do you think you're going?" he called after her.

"Away from you!" Jinora called defiantly over her shoulder. "You're crazy!" Jinora had never felt this way before—mad and terrified and blissful and confused all at the same time. It was almost like it was out of one of her historical novels! Suddenly the ground beneath Jinora became mushy and soft, and she sank into it, and just as it softened the ground hardened around Jinora's feet. Jinora stifled a petrified gasp and dropped her books back onto the ground. She tossed away her distracting cloak and tried to pry her feet up.

As she struggled, the boy slowly walked towards her. "I'm not done with you yet." He grinned mischievously.

Jinora looked up at him, anger glowing in her brown eyes. "Let me out!"

The boy just sat back on his heels and crossed his arms against his scrawny chest. "Not yet, new girl. First, I need your name."

"What?" Jinora shouted. She looked around as the Sato-mobile that almost killed her drove past in a flash of light and dust. There was no one else on the street. "You're crazy!" she repeated.

"Not crazy. Just…in need of a payment." The boy rubbed his fingers together as if to prove a point. "But in order to do this right, I'm gonna need your name."

Jinora huffed out a blow of air that pushed back the boy's long black hair, revealing his glittering eyes to be a sort of auburn. She rolled her own as she said, "My name's Jinora."

The boy grinned. "Nice name, Genie. Now, it's usually accustomed to know who you're paying. I'm Skoochy."

Skoochy…the name sank into the girl's brain mindlessly. She bit back an odd sort of smile, and shifted her feet in their entrapment. As she held back the certain curl of lip, a gurgle of laughter escaped Jinora. Skoochy narrowed his eyes and beckoned a rock into the air. "You laughing at my name, Genie?"

Instantly Jinora gulped down her giggles. "Maybe. And it's not Genie, it's—"

"For a nimrod you talk too much." Skoochy noted, and let his rock fall back onto the ground.

"For a street urchin you're not very smart." Jinora retorted, and with a gust of wind shot into the air, shattering the earth that held her firmly on the ground. Smiling at the pure joy of being free, Jinora glided back down to face Skoochy to find that he was just a few inches taller than her, and she had to tilt her head up a little to look into his dark eyes. Jinora raised an eyebrow at the gawking Skoochy.

"You—you're an airbender!" Skoochy managed to get out.

The young bending girl stooped down to pick up her books. "I thought we already established that." She said easily. As she picked up another book, Jinora felt Skoochy moving backwards; he was spitting dirt onto the front of her pants. She looked up, but Skoochy was already running around the block and away from the girl with the Republic City Councilman father.

Jinora felt something dim within her, something she had only felt when she read about the romances in her historical fiction books. She took the hardbacks and Asami's cloak in her arms, opened the door with a single blast of air, and stepped into her sanctuary, her lips skewed in a confused look. The door closed softly behind her.

...

Skoochy watched the door shut from behind the block corner, feeling the emptiness in his pockets weigh him down. The pick-pocketing earthbender had tried to pick Genie's, but came up basically empty-handed; the girl had had a change purse, but to the pick-pocket's efforts it was empty. There were also the books, yes, but you can't buy food with a book. And besides that, Skoochy couldn't read anyways.

He straightened his vest and hat, and began to walk off down the street, sort of glad to be rid of Genie. Skoochy dug his hands into his pockets and kicked around a rock for a while as he continued down the sidewalk. Then he heard something behind him. Skoochy stopped in the mid-step, and shook his head with a toothy grin. "You can't fool me, Rai." There was a shuffle of small feet, and a small boy in raggedy red clothes appeared beside Skoochy.

The young boy rolled his eyes at the older. "Yeah right. And you thought you could fool me by running off _again_? I thought you saw some loose pockets, but then I saw that girl. She was pretty cute." Rai teased, and pulled a small rough hand through his jet black hair.

"Put a rock in it," Skoochy muttered, and bended a chunk of earth into Rai's mouth. He cut in front of Rai so the boy couldn't see him redden. The earthbender stepped into an alley that cut behind some apartments in the rough part of Republic City. He nodded at some older hoodlums hiding in the shadows, who nodded back.

"Hey!" Rai's muffled voice yelled, as he spit the rock out. His small legs ran to catch up to Skoochy, marks left where Rai's feet hit the pavement. "Besides, she looked like a rich girl. Not something we wanna mess with, huh, Skoochy? Skooch?" Rai waved a hand in front of Skoochy's vacant eyes, but the gesture was lost on the 12-year-old as he stared up at the open sky, the whisper of wind blowing back his dark hair. Rai looked to where Skoochy was, but all he could see was a flying orange and yellow blob that flew in circles throughout the sky until it vanished, going out towards the water.

"That was weird." Rai reached up a dirt-encrusted hand to scratch his head. Skoochy saw Rai's state and made a mental note to take his gang to wash up soon. "You don't think…"

"No. I don't." Skoochy turned away from the sky and back to the shadows, the one thing Skoochy was familiar with. He patted Rai roughly on the head, shoved his hands into his pockets and put his head down. Then the earthbender started walking, ignoring the pain of stubbing his peeking toes on the ground as he did so.

"But it _did_ look like…"

"Come on, Rai, its getting dark. Let's go home."

* * *

Thank you for sticking with me! Please oh please, help me out and review(:


	2. Island Greetings

Hello, and welcome to the second chapter of Between the Earth and Sky! Let me just say,** thank you** so very very much for all of you who reviewed and read the first chapter(:

This chapter, meet some new OC-Rai, Mikah, and Sage, as they make their way to see some old friends.

Remember to read+review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Korra or Skoochy or Jinora or anyone else. Okay, except for my OCs. :)

* * *

_Earth. Fire. Air. Water. 70 years ago, my grandfather, Avatar Aang, master of all four elements, ended the 100-year war against the Fire Nation. With help from Firelord Zuko he created Republic City, my home. According to my father, Republic City is at war. Amon, the Equalists, and the non-benders of our city have begun a rebellion against all benders. They think we have repressed them because of their inability to bend an element._

_Avatar Aang has long since passed, but the new Avatar is here—Korra. She will find a way to bring light to the darkness. She has to._

_..._

As many times as she gazed out the window, looking out towards the City like Korra did, as many times as she forced herself to attend airbending training, as many times as she delved into the past through her novels, Jinora seemed to keep coming back to Skoochy and his odd kinks. Like his hat, or his smirk, or the way he ran off as soon as he figured out whom Jinora's father was.

Groaning inwardly, Jinora took her most recent book from her face and sat in her open windowsill in a way that her back leaned against one side and the soles of her feet were touching the other. She glimpsed over at Republic City, just a small glider ride away, and forced the idea out of her mind. The chances of Jinora seeing Skoochy again were slim—being saved by the earthbender last week was simply a small meeting that was never to happen again. And besides that, he'd never want to see her again anyways. Her father's status as a councilman for Republic City made sure of that.

There was a bang on the door to Jinora's room. She airbended herself up and set her leaf bookmark at the page where she had lost herself. "Who is it?"

The door opened a little and Jinora's very pregnant mother, Pema, peeked in. "Can the two of us come in?"

Jinora blew a stray strand of hair from her face and sat down. "Sure." For a well-read person, Jinora did not have a single word in her today. Strange.

Closing the door behind her, Pema stepped over to the bed and sat down on it, making it sink to accommodate for her excess weight. Jinora sat down next to her and affectionately rubbed her cheek against her mother's shoulder, something Jinora had only done to Pema when she was troubled.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Pema reached over and stroked the back of her eldest daughter's head.

"It's just…" Jinora let her voice falter when she realized she couldn't tell Pema about her secret trip to Republic City. Yes, her mother might understand, but would Tenzin, would her father accept what is once he found out she had stolen away to the most dangerous place in the world right now? Jinora sighed. She couldn't remember ever feeling this vulnerable, this helpless, this _illiterate_ before.

Without asking questions, Pema dismissed the topic and began a new one. "So, I just came in to tell you that Mako and Bolin invited some old friends to come and see the island. I wanted to tell you so that when you see more kids running around, you don't freak out."

"Alright. Thank you."

Pema planted a kiss on Jinora's forehead, and rose to leave. Just before she left, her mother turned and quickly said, "It's not like we need more kids around here!" before running off somewhere else. Jinora had to grin at this. Mako and Bolin, the fabulous bending brothers, had grown up on the streets, staying alive and making friends wherever they could. That was what landed them a home in the pro-bending arena before it got blown to bits by Amon. That place wasn't important to really anyone anymore. The people they knew from the past consisted of mostly other kids living on the streets of Republic City, hiding in the shadows, surviving in any way possible. Like Skoochy.

The young airbender warmed at the thought. Who knew? Maybe the young pick-pocket was one of the people coming over in that ferry.

...

"Report?" Skoochy called to no one in particular. He removed his cap to toss his sweat-streaked hair, then replaced it. Still no answer from his small band of street urchins. Last he had checked, Rai had been tailing Skoochy to the alley, but now the boy was nowhere to be seen. "Report?" he called louder. The earthbender's voice vibrated through the so-called empty alley.

"Calm your stones, we're here!" Rai's voice called back. A moment after, the small boy appeared, his eyes kept solemnly on a wad of yuans he was counting. "Sorry I'm late, Skooch, but I got caught up in some loose pockets."

Just then Mikah ran into the alley, bumping into Rai as she did so. "They had me stay to finish some paperwork, so I got here as fast as I could. Sorry, Rai!" Mikah, older than Skoochy by at least a year and taller by a head, was shoving some extra cash into the front pocket of her sky blue shirt and readjusting the curve-tipped dagger tucked away at her hip. The dagger was with Mikah when Skoochy found her all those years ago; it was something she cherished greatly. Mikah stooped down to pick Rai off the floor.

Rai rubbed the top of his head. "Come on, Mikah! Can't you watch where you're going for once?"

Groaning, Skoochy rolled his eyes and hit his heel against the ground, causing Mikah and Rai to bounce up in the air. Mikah stifled a short yelp. "Did you here me? Where is Sage?" the only bender in the group repeated.

"Said she wasn't coming. Something about unfinished work." Mikah rolled her eyes.

"Sage just doesn't want him to see her in her state of—_oof_!" Rai got a perfectly aimed elbow to the ribcage. The little boy whipped around to yell at Mikah, one eyebrow shot up in the air. "What did I tell you about hitting me like that?"

The earthbender wanted to start shouting at his easily distracted gang. The only reason he had been appointed leader of his family was because he had been on the streets the longest, and Skoochy was the only bender. "Guys!" Both Rai and Mikah stopped their fussing and looked over. Skoochy pulled his hat down and gestured his team over with his chin. "Let's move."

Instantly Mikah crouched down, and vanished into the midday shadows. Rai jumped on top of a closed trashcan, and began to soundlessly vault from level to level. After watching the small boy lead the way, Skoochy heard an almost silent scuffle, like the sound of a spider-rat hiding in the corners, but the earthbender knew better. He knew it was Mikah, creeping her way towards the ferry waiting for them at the docks, ready to take them to see their old friends.

Skoochy walked out of the alley, keeping his eyes on the ground, with Rai's silhouette just in sight. He bumped into a man in green in the street. "Sorry, mister," the pick-pocket mumbled, and the man repeated the apology. As Skooch entered the next back alley, he pulled a small change purse from his pocket. "And thank you," the boy smiled to himself, and pocketed the few yuans inside.

As the earthbender kept walking, the brightly-lit ferry sat waiting at the docks. The large staff was blowing off smoke. The deep horn sounded, lighting Skoochy's eardrums on fire. The ship was too far away to make a noise that loud. "Mikah…" the earthbender boy started warningly. As usual, her uncanny ability to mock different sounds and people was spot on.

"Oh, come on, Skooch. Can't I have a little fun?" Mikah's voice sounded somewhere close, traveling in the shadows. Skoochy could imagine her smiling at him. "Where is Rai?" the boy asked the shadow-runner, but to anyone passing he seemed to be murmuring to the ground.

"Hold on." There was the sound of wind whistling past the earthbender, and he swore he felt her skim past his arm. Skoochy crossed two more busy streets and acquired four more wallets before Mikah returned. "He's almost there. Two blocks ahead and three more from there to the ferry."

The leader couldn't help grinning. "I guess we better hurry, then." And broke off into a sprint down the alley. Even during his streaking run, the young boy managed to get his hands in two more unsuspecting pockets, collecting the fare for the trip over to Air Temple Island as he went.

Mikah reappeared near him; Skoochy could tell by the change in atmosphere. "You got enough yuans?"

"Almost. I need six more yuans for Rai's fare. He can pass for under 5-years-old, right?"

"He won't like that, you know."

"Tell him that it'll save enough money for an extra dumpling on the way home."

"Alright." Her voice sounded unsure of Skoochy, but she didn't further question his decision. And then, just like that, Mikah was gone, like a sonic zap of light, leaving Skoochy alone for the remainder of his pick-pocketing sprint.

When the leader of his small group of urchins got to the ferry, Mikah looked picture perfect as always; Skoochy never really knew how she crept around like that, and wasn't sure he wanted to. Rai had his arms crossed and lip curled down in a glare. As soon as Skoochy was in earshot, Rai started, "I am _not_ going to pretend to be a little kid just to save you more money."

"I told you he wasn't going to be happy with it." Mikah said with a roll of her wide aqua eyes.

"Listen—"

"Come on, Skooch! Do you know how much it hurts to know that you will always look like a five-year-old? I don't think you do!" Rai narrowed his eyes directly at Skoochy's chin; at the boy's height, that was all the non-bender's glare could reach.

Words were beginning to form in the back of Skoochy's mouth when Mikah added, "So what are you gonna do now, Skoochy? I mean, it's either this or _that_—"

"LISTEN UP!" immediately the earthbender cringed at his voice echoing through the City and out towards Air Temple Island, but he needed some order. He drew in a long breath and lowered his voice. "Now both of you are going to listen to me. I'll do the talking and I'll deal with the money. You just need to sit tight and act pretty, got it?"

For a moment both Mikah and Rai just stood there, astounded. The small boy's eyes were wide, and Mikah looked bored while twirling her chestnut hair around and around. Finally, Rai managed a nod. "Good." Skoochy nodded back, and took the lead towards the ferry. He paid the man at the fare booth his money, and made sure to stress that Rai was old enough to pay full fare for the ride over to Air Temple Island.

Finally, the small trio entered the ferry and holed up in the stern of the ferry.

"I can_not_ believe you sided with him." Mikah didn't say anything for the rest of the trip over to see Mako and Bolin. She just sat with her legs and arms crossed, her back firm against the side of the ship. The girl with the dagger kept glancing back at Republic City, different emotions displaying themselves upon her face, the owner of the face unknowing of it. But Skoochy noticed, and made a note to keep an eye on Mikah.

Rai didn't say anything either. He just stuck his head out to feel the wind run through his grimy hair. Soon, with his cheek rested against the side of the boat, Rai closed his eyes and fell into a light sleep.

As the ferry rocked on and Republic City became smaller and Air Temple Island became larger, Skoochy couldn't help but find nostalgia hiding in the crevices of the old ferry he was in. The sea smelled so familiar, the rocking so comforting…no. Skoochy refused to go back to that time. He had to stay strong, for his new family. The old one he used to have was long gone. Skoochy knew that. He let his head fall back, in hopes to see something to take his mind off the past. That was when he saw three orange and yellow blobs dancing in the wind above him. The colors jump-started the earthbender's heart, and he stood in the boat to get a closer look. No…it couldn't be…

What an idiot! Skoochy mentally slapped himself in the face. Of course that Genie girl would be here—she was an _air_bender after all. Skoochy wasn't looking forward too much to seeing her. For all he knew, she could've figured out that her empty change purse was missing by now, or who he was from Bolin. He didn't need another unplanned run-in with the past; it was not just Jinora's father's status that made Skoochy flee the week before.

Mako and Bolin were waiting at the dock when the trio exited the ferry. "Mako!" Rai squealed, and ran to hug his brotherly figure. Rai only reached the firebender's mid-thigh.

"Nice to see you too, Rai." Mako responded with a small smile and a pat on the back.

"Hey, Bo." Mikah called from the top of the ramp leading from the ship. The sun was directly behind the girl, illuminating her chestnut hair, but Skoochy swore he saw her cheeks redden when Bolin, the earthbending brother of Mako, answered back, "Hey there, Mikah."

The older brother nodded at Skoochy as he pried Rai from his leg. "What new, Skoochy?"

The earthbender shrugged. "Not much business. That time of the year."

"You know, Amon being all _'I will take your bending and stuff'_ probably doesn't help." Bolin added out of the blue.

There was a silence before Mako managed to release himself from his new growth and said, "I think its time to take you three on the grand tour of Air Temple Island."

"Are you going to show us around?" Rai asked as he latched himself back onto Mako's leg.

Instantly the firebender began to try and shake off the young boy. "Get off!"

"Nope." Bolin appeared behind Skoochy, with Mikah trailing not far behind. "But I bet Jinora could."

The other earthbender's eyes widened. He cleared his throat and reached over to scratch the back of his neck. "Um, is there someone else who could show us around?"

But Skoochy's awkward question was lost because just then a small bald airbending boy fell from the sky and sent a gust of air at Rai. Rai was peeled off of Mako's leg and tumbled on his back on the pier.

Meelo, the airbending boy, made his landing on Mako's shoulder and peered down at Rai, his face skewed into a frown. "This is my firebender. Get your own!" he shouted at Rai, and sent another gust of wind at Rai's face.

"Watch it, pipsqueak!" Rai retorted, leapt into the air and floated down on Mako's other shoulder, and clenched his hands into fists.

"Whoa! Whoa, you guys." Mako pushed off both small boys from his shoulders. "Come on, there's enough firebender to go around."

"There better be." Just then, a vaguely familiar and very beautiful face came into the picture, and laced her fingers with Mako's.

The firebender grinned at her. "Oh, and this is Asami. Asami Sato."

Something clicked in Skoochy. "You mean the rich girl?" His fingers itched to pick her pocket for some reason. With Mako present, he couldn't. The firebender never really approved of Skoochy's occupation.

"And Mako's girlfriend." Bolin added as he walked past the reunion, and headed for the rest of the island. Mikah, as usual, trailed behind him. Skoochy was never going to be able to 'borrow' from Asami Sato now.

"Come on, you two!" It was Mikah. "Hurry up! The tour's about to start." Rai followed the girl's orders and ran after the departing tour group. Skoochy pulled his cap over his features, wishing that he didn't have a run-in with the awkward Genie. But as he followed Bo and Mikah to one part of Air Temple Island, he thought he saw Jinora looking at him from above as she flew around in the open sky.

...

Jinora, from her perch above the tree line, frowned. Mako and Bolin's friends had been visiting for an hour or two, and she had still not been able to identify whether or not Skoochy was among the three tourists. Alright, so maybe Jinora _did_ know that the earthbending boy was part of the group, but if she didn't talk to him, he wasn't there. The airbender lowered her below the trees and settled herself on a certain branch high up in a place where she thought no one could see her. The tree was a special place for her, for in the trunk was a knot that she held the books she was reading. At the moment Jinora's hiding place held _Under Kyoshi Waters_, a tale about the monster that used to live near the island.

The group, led by Asami and Mako, and Meelo, was just heading down Jinora's path. She watched them from above, holding her breath to ensure that no one would see her up there. No one looked up at the airbender as they passed her tree. And just when the young girl thought that she was safe, she heard a familiar voice quip,

"You can't hide from me up there. You should know better, Genie."

Jinora gasped and almost fell out of the tree. She looked down to see Skoochy smirking up at her. "How did you know I was up here?"

"I've got my ways." The boy replied, and looked down at his feet. Jinora felt a shiver run down her spine, a jolt of young love, something she hadn't experienced, so she didn't know what it was—yet. "So I haven't seen you around lately." Skoochy started.

"Well, as you can see, I don't exactly live in the area." The young airbender gestured to her island. She refused to come out of her tree just to be looked down upon, and injected a slight sarcasm in her voice.

The earthbending boy looped his thumbs into the button holes of his green vest. "Just to let you know, I'm still looking for that payment. You signed a contract that stated—"

"Contract?" Jinora interrupted, scoffing as she did so.

"—that if I were to ever save your life you owe me some sort of payment."

"And what, pray tell, is this so called payment?"

Still smirking, Skoochy started to pace around Jinora's tree, prowling around like a hunter waiting for his prey to come out of hiding.

"How about…I don't blast wind in your face and we call it a day?" Jinora made her weak attempt at a way out, but even so, her voice was firm.

"How about not." Skoochy stuck out his tongue. "Really, Genie, do you know _anything_ about negotiation?"

That earned the pick-pocket a nicely planted blast of wind in the face. As he readjusted his hair and hat, from far above him the boy thought he heard Jinora giggle and say, "I tried to negotiate, but you wouldn't listen."

Despite how humiliated Skoochy felt, he couldn't help suppressing a smile.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please review!


	3. Tell All

Hello, author here. Get it? Because that's what Zuko...never mind. Anyways, welcome to the third chapter of my Jinoochy fan to the fiction(: and might I add, thank you all SO MUCH for reviewing, all of you who have! I am forever thankful :3

In advance, please note that this is an all-Skoochy chapter. It's setting the stage for the (maybe) last chapter of BTEAS.

Read and review, per usual!

Disclaimer: I do not own Republic City, or its original inhabitants.

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Book 1 ¼: Between the Earth and Sky

Chapter 3: Tell-All

_Earth. Fire. Air. Water. 70 years ago, my grandfather, Avatar Aang, master of all four elements, ended the 100-year war against the Fire Nation. With help from Firelord Zuko he created Republic City, my home. According to my father, Republic City is at war. Amon, the Equalists, and the non-benders of our city have begun a rebellion against all benders. They think we have repressed them because of their inability to bend an element._

_Avatar Aang has long since passed, but the new Avatar is here—Korra. She will find a way to bring light to the darkness. She has to._

_..._

The churning waters rose high above Skoochy's head, shadowing the fear in his eyes. Everything was in slow motion, the waves crashing down upon the boat, the sick, salty water filtering out of the holes it gashed in the ship, Skoochy's pleas for the storm to cease. One by one, the storm continued to attack his small fishing boat in waves, pushing him farther and farther out to sea until the rocking came to a halt and once again the sea became a simple, rocking lullaby instead of a hard rock ballad. The young boy didn't know where he was. There was nothing but the blue surrounding him—the one element that was unfamiliar to Skoochy. Tears doused in the bittersweet taste of what was lost cut into the boy's cheeks. He had never felt so helpless, so weak, so _alone_.

He was alone.

Gasping for air like a fish out of water, Skoochy sat up in his makeshift cot and opened his eyes. Before him was the dark, dank room of an evicted apartment building, the earthbender's home for the moment. There was a build-up of sweat holding tightly onto the boy's forehead, and has he leaned forward the perspiration escaped and slithered down the side of Skoochy's face. _Oh spirits…_

For a moment Skoochy glanced around to make sure that he hadn't awoken anyone. Mikah and Rai, who were sharing the other cot in the apartment, were sound asleep, their feet in the other's faces. Rai smacked his lips in his sleep, a sly grin of satisfaction creeping over the small non-bender's face. Across from the dreaming boy, Mikah seemed to be breathing evenly, but Skoochy knew better. Just visible in the moon, Yue's smile, the earthbender could just make out her fingers tightening around the hilt of her curved dagger.

In the darkest corner of the apartment lay Sage. In her dark clothes and purple-black hair, Sage seemed almost invisible to the rest of the world. Skoochy wasn't even sure the non-bender was even there until the shadow breathed.

Everyone was asleep, tired from the day's hard work of picking pockets and collecting money and 'filling out paperwork.' Everyone except for Skoochy. The dream he had…the earthbender had had that dream before, long ago, right after his old life had ended. Back when Skoochy was just a frightened little 8-year-old, barely surviving on the upper class's pocket change. Before Mako and Bolin had taken in the boy, given him warm clothes and a bite to eat, and a temporary family to depend on. That was four years ago. Now the young earthbender had his own family to protect, to take care of.

Skoochy tore the thinning sheets away from his sweaty, convulsing body, and let the cold air around him cool him down. The boy tried to level his heartbeat and breathing patterns, seeing as they were both suddenly jumpy and irregular. The earthbender grabbed his cap from the floor where it had fallen off last night, and pulled it over his damp hair. Instantly Skoochy felt protected by his father's hat, surrounded by a force field that caused the 12-year-old to feel smart, invincible. For the rest of the night, the earthbender stared out the small window of the apartment at Yue, the moon goddess, as she watched over Republic City. She gave him just enough time to collect the wits that had tried to run away from him again—something they hadn't done in a long time.

...

The leader of the gang sniffed the air, and opened his eyes to a steaming dumpling staring back at him. The rest of his team was in the background, already digging into their breakfast. "'Morning, Skooch," Rai smiled through his dumpling. In return, the earthbender wiggled his fingers at the small boy, and reached for his waiting food.

As Skoochy took a bite of his mouth-wateringly warm sweet dumpling, the taste of steaming meat and thick sauce melted across his tongue. After the first bite, Skoochy pushed the food to one side of his mouth with his tongue and asked, "So what are we doing today?"

Mikah looked up from her dumpling, which she was eating quite delicately, with her pinkies in the air and dainty little bites taken from her food. She put a hand to her lips and wiped the excess sauce away. Out of all the people in Skoochy's group, she was the only one that was polite. Secretly, everyone admired Mikah for this quality, but no one dared to say this out loud. The oldest girl cringed at the sound of Rai tearing into dumpling flesh, then cleared her throat. "They want me to run some money over to the boss today before noon. That's about all my appointments I got today."

"I'm going wherever you're going, Skooch," Rai piped up from his meal. Since Rai was the youngest, he wasn't allowed to go out on his own yet. For the time being, the small boy stuck with Skoochy.

Sage pulled back the hood of her black cloak, revealing her rich violet eyes and pale white skin. She licked the reddish sauce from her lips and looked up at Skooch, so that auburn met violet softly. "Paperwork," she mumbled, and dropped her gaze back down to her breakfast. Sage was the only one who could read, so she was the only one that was able to do the paperwork and tell the secrets she had learned to the rest of her impromptu family. In Republic City, everyone had a secret; to have the upper hand, Skoochy figured out that you had to notice everything and know every single person's secrets.

"Alright." The earthbender slapped his thighs, having finished his dumpling, and stood. Everyone else followed suit. Skoochy pulled his cap closer to his face. "Let's move. Rai, you're with me. Sage, Mikah, stick together. Make sure not to—"

Mikah stepped in front of the earthbender, cutting him off, and opened the door to the apartment. In return, the leader got a mouth full of chestnut hair. "We know what to do, Skooch. You don't have to worry about us." She winked at him, and vanished into the shadows in the hallway. Sage followed her friend out the door without really acknowledging either boy.

"See you back here." The shadow girl muttered to the ground. She yanked her hood back over her pulled-back hair, and was gone.

Rai wiped his fingers clumsily on his trousers. "I guess that only leaves us. So where're we going today?" The small boy followed Skoochy out the door and watched as he pulled the door shut. On the front of the apartment door was a sign that stated in big letters, 'EVICT.'

Shrugging, the earthbender shoved his hands into his pockets. "I don't know. Maybe we could go back near the Firelord."

The small boy groaned in response. "But we _always _go there! It's like you go there to watch people, not pick their pockets! And that's no fun." Rai pouted as he stepped out into the sunshine behind Skoochy.

"You're right, it is a good place to watch people," Skoochy agreed. He slipped his hand into someone's loose pocket, and withdrew their wallet. Quick to slip the collection of yuans into his pocket, Skoochy tossed the now-empty leather purse back onto the ground for its owner to find. As the wallet hit the ground, a small cloud of dust unfurled into the air behind the earthbender, but he and Rai were already gone.

"But it is also a good place to dish out secrets to people who need them."

"It's also a good place for us to get caught." Rai grumbled. "Speaking of…"

As the two accomplices walked towards the enlarged statue of Firelord Zuko, a burning ball of fire flickering in his outstretched hand, Skoochy quickly noticed two metalbender cops and two familiar-looking men talking to them. The earthbender pulled Rai behind a building.

"What are they doing here?" Rai hissed.

Peering from around the corner, Skoochy identified one of the familiar men—it was Tenzin, a councilman for Republic City and Jinora's father. The orange and yellow of the man's robes were unmistakable. The earthbender couldn't help himself. He began to cuss under his breath. When he was finished ranting explicitly, the older boy asked, "What are we going to do now?" He tried to get a good look at the other unknown man, but his back was turned.

"I don't know." Rai's voice was soft, scared. "They look like…they look like they're looking for something."

As the man next to Tenzin turned to face Skoochy and Rai, Skoochy finally identified the mystery man. Immediately the earthbender wanted to jump off the top of the nearest tea shop. "Or someone." He growled under his breath, and pushed down the shaking guilt in his stomach. 2 different run-ins on the same week? This was irregular, even for Republic City.

"Who is it?" Rai whispered eagerly.

"Remember that Sato-mobile I banged up last week?"

"Oh no…" Rai drew in a hissing breath, and scratched the side of his face with his finger.

"Oh yes." It wasn't Skoochy, but the deep voice of a metalbender. A cold hand curled around the collar of Skoochy's shirt. Instantly the earthbender was yanked up into the air by the metalbender cop behind him; Rai was given the same treatment. The cop grinned spitefully at both boys. "Well look what I caught here—two troublemakers."

Rai began to kick at the bigger man. "Let me down!" But the metal bender ignored the small boy's screams, and hoisted both scrawny boys towards Tenzin and 'Pops.' Skoochy couldn't escape; he couldn't even help turn Rai loose. He pulled both arms up in frustration and bended a pillar of rock right into the metalbender's crotch. This made the cop drop the boys and fall to his knees in agony.

"Move!" Skoochy hollered at Rai as he hit the ground running. He brushed past Tenzin and the other man, but the boys were too fast for either man to catch on.

"Where to?" Rai shouted over the whistling of wind in his ears.

"Alley Three!" the earthbender yelled back. From the corner of his eyes, Skoochy saw Rai surge into the air from a single bound, and landed perfectly on a branch at least 10 feet up. As both pick-pockets continued to run from the threats back near the Firelord statue, neither took the time to notice an orange and yellow blur airbend above them, watching their every move.

Finally Skoochy reached his destination alley, a little hole-up between buildings a few blocks away. Rai was already there, waiting for him, not even shining with sweat. "Why were they there?"

Taking his time, the earthbender bended up a rock to lean against while he tried to stabilize his breathing pattern and panted back, "I don't know. I think they were looking…looking for the person who banged up that guy's car. Which…would be me."

The wind picked up above the two boys. "Very good." Eyes wide, both Rai and Skoochy looked up to see Tenzin floating down from the sky in a ball of air, right between the boys and their escape. His brow was furrowed, and the airbending master looked infuriated, his grayish eyes shooting daggers of disappointment at Skoochy and Skoochy only. The sound of cop sirens played melodically in the background.

Skoochy mustered a slight grin and waved at the man, despite the feeling of unwelcome panic pooling up in his middle. "Hey, councilman."

Tenzin, in return, made a small growling sound in the back of his throat that came up as a groan. "So you were the one that crashed Haru's Sato-mobile?"

Rai pushed out his chest and piped up, "He only did it to save that girl from getting killed!"

If the councilman wasn't there with him, Skoochy would've strangled him.

The airbending master looked at back at the earthbender sternly. "Is that true, Skoochy?"

Slowly, the earthbender shifted his auburn eyes to the ground and let his cap cover his face. He began to trail his peeping toes in the dirt. "Maybe."

"Of course it's true!" Rai interjected. He jumped to the top of a dumpster to gather Tenzin's attention, and it worked. The councilman looked over at the small boy, who was now taller than him. "The dumb girl walked in front of the Sato-mobile without noticing it coming right at her and so to save her Skoochy bended a wall of rock in between them and pushed her out of the way with another rock but she was flying in the air and that's when she glided down like—like you did!"

Tenzin stiffened. "Did you get her name?"

"Who, the girl's? Yeah, I got it. It's…Jinora, right?" Skoochy finally looked back up, straight into the airbending master's wide eyes. He toyed with a smirk that was blooming upon the boy's cracked lips. He licked them, and watched as Tenzin's alarm began to shine through.

"She was _here_?"

Skoochy shrugged. "Yeah, something about books. I didn't pay much attention." But even as he said that, the 12-year-old flushed into a light shade of red.

The airbending master turned away from the two street urchins, and began to walk away from the boys and the alley. Before he left, Tenzin mumbled over his shoulder, "I was never here. I never caught you." And with a gust of wind, he was gone.

Rai jumped down from his dumpster. "He didn't even say thank you."

Listening closely to the sound of fading sirens, Skoochy pulled his cap down over his face to keep from revealing his ashamed smile, the one that had come from the utter fear that Tenzin had taken with him when he left the alleyway. Tenzin hadn't changed since the earthbender last saw him. The song of sirens finally ended, causing the older boy to regain his confidence and cool. Skoochy turned to face Rai.

"I think he just did."

* * *

Thanks for reading! (and reviewing? :D)


	4. A Walk in the Park

Welcome back to the fourth chapter of this Jinoochy fanfic! Before we delve into anything else, let me just tell you:

THANK YOU SO MUCH my readers :D all of your reviews I hold close to my heart, especially you, Ophelia. Don't wither away, the chapter is here! And thank you, leafysummers, I'm glad you liked the development(:

If I can figure it out, I'll post a picture of Rai, Mikah, and Sage soon. Credits go to my friend, since I can't draw -_-

Anyways, enjoy! 3 the author

Disclaimer: I don't own Republic City. Unfortunately.

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Book 1 ¼: Between the Earth and Sky

Chapter 4: A Walk in the Park

_Earth. Fire. Air. Water. 70 years ago, my grandfather, Avatar Aang, master of all four elements, ended the 100-year war against the Fire Nation. With help from Firelord Zuko he created Republic City, my home. According to my father, Republic City is at war. Amon, the Equalists, and the non-benders of our city have begun a rebellion against all benders. They think we have repressed them because of their inability to bend an element._

_Avatar Aang has long since passed, but the new Avatar is here—Korra. She will find a way to bring light to the darkness. She has to._

...

"I don't think you understand the severity of your actions!" Tenzin raised his voice once more at his oldest daughter. Jinora looked up at him pleadingly, a look of pure anguish and rage shining in her eyes.

"I _do_, I just thought…"

"You just thought what?" her father interrupted. Pema was standing off to the side; she was quietly refereeing the conversation, but now stepped forward and took her husband's arm in hers.

"Dear," she said slowly. "We need to listen to what Jinora has to say." Then her mother turned to the young airbender. "Now what did you think?"

Slowly, Jinora breathed in and out to try and steady herself. She had the guts to go out into Republic City alone, but none while telling her parents that she did so. The young girl picked her words carefully. "I thought that I was ready to go and face a danger like the City alone. And I was able to survive the harsh crowds and reckless drivers. I guess I just want to…prove myself."

"Prove what?" Tenzin snapped, Pema's hold not enough to keep his high-strung temper at bay. "That you were irresponsible enough to go gallivanting off alone in the most dangerous place in the world right now? The Equalists are still at large, and if you were to be captured…" his voice finally faltered, and he tore away from his wife's embrace. The airbending master, although strong and unmovable, was also a father.

Pema stepped forward, her green eyes reassuring and kind. "What your father is trying to say is that if you were captured by the Equalists, he can't guarantee your safety. The safest place for you to stay is here, at home."

This made Pema's oldest daughter crack. She threw her hands back and shot a blast of air behind her. The sudden move of fury made even Tenzin turn around. "I am sorry for going off like that, but what was I supposed to do? Staying on this island, without knowing what's going on or what I can do to…" Jinora attempted to glare at her father, who was staring at her with disbelief; he had never seen his 10-year-old act out like this before, so…tempered and irrational. "I just wanted to prove to you that I'm more than just air or books. That's all I wanted."

"Jinora—" Tenzin started.

"No! I had to go out there. And you know what? I'm glad I did." The airbender turned from her awestruck parents, dashed out of the room and into the courtyard outside.

"What has gotten into that child?" the airbending master muttered.

Smiling sadly, Pema reached over and took her husband's hands in hers. "I think she's spending too much time with Korra."

...

The tears in her eyes kept her from seeing the water fly past below her. Jinora wiped the white hot tears from her face as she continued to glide back over to Republic City. She needed time to think, somewhere where her father couldn't find her. Somewhere the young girl could be alone to figure things out, without anyone disturbing her, like they did back on Air Temple Island. Jinora had been such an idiot, actually revealing how she felt about sneaking away to Republic City while the war was going on. She could've been killed or worse! Her father was right, and she knew it. Jinora couldn't face the facts—she had never been wrong before, and the airbender wasn't about to be wrong now. She was going prove to her father that she was strong enough. That would win his trust back. It had to.

As Jinora glided over the city, she decided to hide out at the park. There were trees to sit underneath, a bridge to visit, different paths to walk. Jinora could cool down here, sort out her problems.

Sailing beneath the tree line, the young bender made her landing in the middle of a path, and started walking. She peered up at the trees. They seemed to be like the ones back on Air Temple Island. One even looked like the tree that Jinora liked to hide in. The girl smiled as the memories of Skoochy washed over her. Despite his scruffy appearance, the boy seemed to be…well, at least decent.

Reddening just slightly, Jinora continued to make her way down the cut-out trails, towards the pond in the middle of the park, the silhouette of Firelord Zuko's statue in the background. "After Firelord Zuko gave the crown to his daughter, he began to travel the world, promoting peace wherever he went." The bookworm murmured under her breath. Letting loose her intelligence like that also helped Jinora release the tension that built up inside her.

"That's nice to know." A familiar voice said sarcastically behind her.

Jumping slightly, the airbender shook her head and smiled to herself. "I thought you hung out around the statue, Skoochy." She had yet to turn, but as she uttered his name she blushed slightly and turned to face him.

The street urchin was leaning against the tree Jinora had identified as the one she hid out in back at Air Temple Island. He was smirking at her, with the cap he always wore just over his dark eyes. He pushed himself off the tree and came sauntering over to Jinora. She straightened her back every so slightly, so the airbender seemed taller next to the boy.

"I did," the earthbender conceded. "But let's just say I ran into some…trouble there, and so I'm staying here until it all blows over."

"Good to know."

There was a silence full of distant water-splashing and wind rattling through the leaves. The airbender continued to walk down the path using her glider as a walking stick, taking in the beauty of simplicity, of nature. Skoochy strolled alongside her the entire time, taking in her reaction to everything within Republic City Park. They stopped when Jinora stooped down and sat in front of the pond, the sunlight gleaming off the surface. She just sat and stared for the longest time, the slight wind tickling her cheeks. All the time, the airbender didn't talk, but all she could think of was how this was exactly like a book she had finished a long time ago. She could remember the name, but Jinora did remember how the heroine felt when she looked over the sea from her cliff-side home. At peace.

Her company was also staring out at the water, an unreadable look on his face. Then Skoochy shifted his eyes over to Jinora and asked, "So what are you doing back in Republic City so soon, Genie?"

She looked over at him, then back out at the pond. "My father found out about my beings in Republic City a few weeks back. I don't even know how he acquired that information. I mean, the only people that were there that day was me and…" There, something clicked within Jinora. "…you." She whipped her head around so she could look at the keeper of her only secret.

Skoochy suddenly attained a sudden interest in the stone between his fingers. He began to grind it until the rock was just grains of dust.

"You told him?" Jinora voice, just above a whisper, trembled slightly.

The earthbender put up his hands in denial. "I didn't! Rai did. But it was just—we were going to get arrested and then—"

"You were going to get _arrested_?"

To which Skoochy mumbled back: "Just for banging up that guy's car, no big deal."

"No big deal? No big deal? Skoochy, if your parents found out, wouldn't they—oh." Jinora stopped when she saw the alarm and sudden grief flood into Skoochy's eyes, his shift of body position when he turned away from her when she uttered the word _parent_. "Oh, Skoochy, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

The earthbender glanced back over his shoulder, and his heart sank when he saw how regretful the young girl looked. Her eyes gleamed with remorse. He slicked on a sad sort of smile and stood up. "Come on, I wanna show you something." Skoochy held out his hand.

Jinora could've just airbended herself to her feet, but instead, she took it.

...

The harsh wind, familiar to the airbender's face, smelled smooth and foreign as she leaned against the edge of the rooftop. "This is amazing!" Jinora shouted giddily as she looked down at Republic City's afternoon. Skoochy had taken her to the top of an evicted building to look over the City. The view, Jinora felt, could've been better from an aerial point of view, but she wasn't complaining.

"I want you to meet some people." Skoochy pulled his guest by the arm away from the railing. Jinora set her wandering attention on her friend and his cap. "Mikah! You can come out now!" he called out to the empty rooftop.

The airbender watched in amazement as a figure evaporated from the noon shadows. She was an elegant girl with long, glittering brown hair and a kind of water tribe dagger hanging loosely at her hip. Jinora recognized the dagger—it was hooked at the end so that its owner could hold onto something above them and zip line around. She read about the blade in _Water Tribe Moon_, another historical fiction book.

"You must be that girl Skooch saved." Mikah said in a light kind of voice, and reached her hand out for Jinora to take. The small girl did, and soon found that Mikah's soft-looking hands were actually rock solid. When Mikah released, she tossed her perfect hair back, and Jinora couldn't help but find a little bit of Asami in the girl from the shadows.

"That I am. My name's Jinora," the airbender smiled at her new acquaintance.

"And this is Rai," Skoochy butted in, and gestured to a small boy in raggedy red clothes. Rai jumped up from the towering box he was sitting on, and the boy landed lightly on his feet in front of Jinora. Here, she could obviously see the height difference between her and the small boy—he was the size of Meelo! But what puzzled the young girl more was how Rai had landed…the small boy had made his way down like an airbender.

"Are you an…airbender?" Jinora asked, trying to mask her shock.

The small boy snorted. "Why would _I_ be an airbender?" He looked up at the real bender and smiled at her.

"None of us are benders." Mikah explained, her voice melodic against the afternoon breeze.

"Except for Skoochy." Jinora interjected.

The older girl nodded. "Except for Skoochy." She repeated.

Without warning, Rai, still smiling stupidly at the airbender, said, "Skoochy was right. You are cute."

Jinora turned a bright pink. "Um…" She was both flattered and utterly confused at the same time.

Skoochy, the same color pink, pulled Jinora away from Rai and over to Sage. While his guest wasn't looking, Skoochy looked back at Rai and narrowed his eyes at him, to which the small boy stuck his tongue out and mouthed, _but she is!_

That earned Rai a chunk of earth in the face.

"Last but not least, meet Sage." Skoochy turned his attention back to the introductions he was making.

"Nice to meet you," Jinora greeted the girl with violet eyes warmly. Sage looked up from the scribbled-in book she seemed to be looking over, and acknowledged the girl without a single word. The young bender turned to the rest of the children she had just met. "It was nice to meet all of you."

"Yes. Skoochy's told us so much about you." Rai grinned, then continued to spit out dirt from his mouth. Despite the conditions Rai was in, the small boy still ogled at Jinora with puppy dog eyes.

Jinora glanced out at the position of the sun, and away from the small boy's uncomfortable gaze. "Um…well, would you look at the time! My father will probably be furious if I don't get home soon." She grabbed her staff that was leaning against the railing and _fwip_ed it open. Jinora jumped up onto the thin railing with balance as smooth as a flying ring-tailed lemur, and glanced back at Skoochy with a slight smile on her face. "See you later, Skooch," and with that, the airbender jumped off the building. Both Rai and Mikah gasped. Sage looked up from her book and peered over the wall of the roof.

Just as soon as Jinora had fallen, she pulled up and began smoothly sailing the skies, her glider headed for home. The young airbender hadn't seen, but under the shadow Skoochy's hat casted, he was blushing. The earthbender leaned against the railing and continued to watch as Jinora's glider became smaller and smaller against a light blue background.

"I think she liked me," Rai whispered loudly to Mikah.

The older girl groaned and elbowed Rai in the ribs. "Shut up, Rai." Her gaze fell upon Skoochy as he gazed (oddly) dreamily out at the sky. Mikah smiled a little. "She's all Skoochy's."

* * *

Read and review, and thanks soooo very much :D


	5. Captured

Hello, and welcome to the first part of the Jinoochy version of the season finale! Let me just say, thank you sooooo much for sticking with me, and waiting for this for a very long time. Vacation means no computer, sorry. *sigh*

But don't worry! The next chapter is heeeeere! So scroll down and enjoy(:

Disclaimer: I don't own LoK. That's normal, though.

* * *

Book 1 ¼: Between the Earth and Sky

Chapter 5: Captured

_Earth. Fire. Air. Water. 70 years ago, my grandfather, Avatar Aang, master of all four elements, ended the 100-year war against the Fire Nation. With help from Firelord Zuko he created Republic City, my home. According to my father, Republic City is at war. Amon, the Equalists, and the non-benders of our city have begun a rebellion against all benders. They think we have repressed them because of their inability to bend an element._

_Avatar Aang has long since passed, but the new Avatar is here—Korra. She will find a way to bring light to the darkness. She has to._

_..._

"We have to move. There's no other way." Mikah protested as she heaved her sack of things onto one shoulder. In the background, Skoochy looked over at Sage as she tucked the remainder of what little she had into the pockets of her cape.

Rai was on the opposite cot, looking bored and swinging his tiny legs back and forth. "Aren't we leaving yet?" he complained loudly.

Furrowing his brow, Skoochy turned his attention back to Mikah. "_I_ am the leader here, and _I_ will make that decision." His voice was low and as menacing as he could make it.

"Well, I already made that decision for you. We're leaving." Mikah crossed her arms and set her weight onto her back foot. She looked down upon Skoochy with a frown.

The leader resorted to compromise. "We can just stay one more day, and then we'll move."

In return, the oldest girl groaned. "Skoochy, we've stayed in this place too long! We have to move again, or they'll figure out where we're hiding."

"I think the cops have something worse to worry about then us street urchins!" Skoochy protested, his voice finally starting to rise, and he threw his hand out, gesturing to the only window in the small apartment. Mikah's face fell as she saw the graying clouds and enemy blimps in the distance and the smoke that was starting to rise from Amon's attacks on the city. The room wavered slightly as another bomb hit Republic City. "What we need to do is figure out how to avoid the attacks first." Skoochy's voice was soft, and he dropped the threatening undertones.

Mikah, however, had not dropped the angered act. She whipped her eyes back to Skoochy, her blue eyes shimmering slightly. "And what'll happen when the attacks reach us? How are we going to survive if the building collapses on us? How am _I_ going to survive if one of you winds up dead?" Mikah's voice faltered. She quickly turned away from Skoochy again. The girl reached up and wiped away the escaping tears from her eyes. Everyone else waited in complete silence for Mikah to regain control of herself. She had never acted like this, never in the few years that Skoochy had known her. He knew that she had had past abandonment issues, but he she never told them what they were, so he never asked.

Rai, his eyes wide, looked alarmed as he slowly reached out a hand to Mikah. He placed his small hand on her shoulder, in attempt to comfort her. The older girl looked over at the small boy, and smiled a little. She breathed in, and turned back to face Skoochy.

The earthbender spoke before she had a chance to. "You're right. We can't just stay here, waiting for the attacks to reach us." He looked around at his small crew, a glint in his auburn eyes. "So here's what we're going to do…"

...

When Skoochy stepped outside, there were billowing waves of ash rising up to greet him. Amon's blimps were hovering above; the shadows of Republic City hushed its inhabitants in fear. Even Skoochy felt the darkness penetrate his thick skin, making him shiver in an odd sort of terror. The trembling was odd to Skoochy in the way that the fear was of the selfish variety. The rest of his gang was safe, untouchable, just because they weren't benders. Skoochy was the only bender; for once, he was the only one in danger.

"They're coming closer!" Mikah's voice broke through to the leader. He managed to tear his gaze away from the empty streets and full skies, and buckled down. Skoochy _had_ to stay focused.

The earthbender turned to face his disheveled gang, his look of determination soon to be echoed in the light of their eyes. No matter what was going to happen, Skoochy would always be the one they looked up to.

Another bomb exploded the next block over. The ground beneath the four street urchins shook, making a stifled gasp escape from Rai and Sage.

"Let's move!" Skoochy yelled at his team. His voice kicked them into high gear, and each one began to do their thing. Mikah melted into the ashen shadows, Rai leapt up onto the balcony of an abandoned apartment, and Sage ran alongside of Skoochy, her cloak fluttering behind. Skoochy glanced up at the raiding ships and felt terror leap to his throat, threatening to show the world that although Skoochy was a tough, street-smart kid, he was still just that—a kid.

The boy noted a slight change of direction from the Equalist blimp directly over him, and someone pointed down at the street ants from above. A crackle echoed through the City, navigating its way through the smoke towards Skoochy. "Stop and surrender or face Amon!" the voice demanded.

Before Skoochy could even open his mouth to shoot back an answer, he heard Rai yell from above, "Never! Amon can KISS. MY—"

Just on cue, the bomb that had been planted where Rai was standing detonated, sending shards of buildings and Skoochy away. Before he could do anything else, Skoochy bended up a wall of earth between him and the collapsing building. As he protected himself, the earthbender also protected the debris from hitting Sage, who was protecting her notebook with her life.

In the smoke, Skoochy stood up and coughed the dirt out of his system. "Report?"

Skoochy's breath caught in his throat. The silence was deafening, heartbreaking.

"Report!" he screamed in a raggedy, broken voice. The cloud around him muted anything into a misshapen blob. Skoochy was glad that the smoke gave his team enough cover and time to regroup.

Sage, careful to tuck the book back into her cloak, stood and joined the earthbender in the receding dark. "Here," she whispered.

A cough rippled through the withering smoke. "It's a good thing I sensed the bomb before it exploded, or I would be dust." Mikah's voice was light, covertly playful. There was a pause as Mikah came into view. She glanced around, her eyes slightly fogged over. Her blue eyes looked alarmed as she turned back to Skoochy. "Where's Rai?"

The smoke finally cleared, exposing the heap of Rai's body, discarded in the middle of the street. It wasn't moving.

"Rai!" Mikah's voice cracked, and she ran to his side faster than Skoochy could blink. She knelt beside him, positioning his small head in her lap. Mikah was fond of the small boy; they all were.

The earthbender watched the idle blimps carefully as he dashed off to check up on his fallen soldier. Mikah looked up at him, her eyes shining brightly. "He's breathing. He's still breathing!"

Skoochy started to say, "We need to get him out here."

But Sage cut him off. "We've got company!" her shrill voice yelled. No one had time to react to the girl's first full sentence before metal ropes were thrown down and chi-blockers not far behind.

Out of the corner of his eye, Skoochy saw Mikah stand, Rai's limp body in her arms. A single strand of blood dripped from his mouth. The earthbender ducked a chi-blocker attack, and tossed a chunk of rock at him at full force. He wasn't sure why the chi-blockers had chosen to attack Skoochy's gang, but he figured it had something to do with Rai's comment. Who knew Equalists could be so _touchy_. "Can you run with him?" he asked as he threw another rock the chi-blocker's way, seeing as he had missed the first time. His attacker lunged, but Skoochy was too small and too quick. The jab cut through open air. Skoochy bended a rock into the blocker's back, and he fell with a thud.

Sage was holding her own against her chi-blocker; she managed to pull one down to her level and whispered something into its ear. Before Skoochy knew it, the chi-blocker had backed away from Sage, his body language clearly showing that he was afraid the mousy girl. The earthbender knew what Sage had told him, and he couldn't help but smirk. In the background, Mikah and the body in her arms vanished into the shadows.  
Skoochy let his guard down for half a second, and the downed chi-blocker set a gloved hand on the boy's leg and electrocuted him.

Spirals of blue light wrapped themselves around Skoochy's body, setting his nerves on fire. The vibrant blue snaked through his brain, setting off alarms everywhere. His pained scream made even the shadow runner stop mid-stride. The earthbender, sucked of his strength, collapsed onto the ground, shooting up clouds of dust, accompanied by the sound of sizzling flesh. His father's cap rolled off his had and fell into the dust, beaten. Sage abandoned her attacker and ran to her leader's side.

The hurt boy looked up, the sky blurry with pain, as Sage rolled him over onto his back, her small hands cold and callused. As another blimp floated away, in the distance a fluffy thing sped across the sky, orange dots dancing across its back.

Jinora!

Skoochy sat up, ignoring the stabbing pain and woozy stomach and watched with a new kind of pain as two of Amon's blimps raced towards the flying bison, one below and one above. As the red aircrafts crept closer to the bison, it dawned on Skoochy was he needed to do. What he _had_ to do.

The boy, his pain vanishing with the wind whipping at his face, looked into Sage's violet eyes, his own unblinking. Just one look, and the quiet girl understood.

So did the one hiding in the shadows. "No!" Mikah yelled, and melted into the light, Rai no longer with her, but somewhere safe. "You can't!"

"Mikah," the earthbender started.

She sped forward. "Don't sacrifice yourself for _them_! Think of your family, Skoochy." Mikah stood next to Sage, her eyes wild with terror.

The earthbender's strained smirk fell a little. He met Mikah and took her hand firmly, holding onto her tight, forcing her to listen. He looked into her eyes with his auburn ones, determination lined in his pupils. "Take Sage to where we said we'd meet. Take care of Rai. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"You promise?" Mikah's voice was soft, the words heavy with the fear of losing another person she loved.

Skoochy swallowed the wad of paper in his throat, and managed a nod. The boy had never been the one leaving, and it was taking its toll now. He picked up his cap and pulled it carefully over his features. "You're in charge till I get back." With that, the bender turned away, lifted his foot, and used the force of the earth to propel him upwards. Skoochy wasn't a master of earth, but he managed to teach himself that trick.

Watching Sage watch him go, Mikah wiped her eyes and softly drew the younger girl away by the shoulder. "Come on," the replacement leader put her arm around her protectively. She glanced back out at the cloudy sky. "He'll be back soon."

_He has to be._ She thought, and pulled Sage into the shadows.

...

The blimps were gaining on Oogi, making Jinora's brown eyes widen in terror. From her place in the flying bison's saddle, she could see the chi-blockers readying for battle inside. She looked back at her family, at her mother sitting protectively with newborn Rohan in her arms. Jinora had to do something; she was the only one ready of the attack. Meelo and Ikki had moved the farthest away from the Equalist blimps, fear emanating from them like the scent of the prey. Jinora's heart sank.

_They_ were the prey.

The chi-blockers were ready to attack again, and another net was fired at the flying animal, like the one Lin had shot down before she was taken. That had happened a mere few minutes ago. To Jinora, it felt like Lin had sacrificed herself last year.

Breathing slowly, the girl readied herself for the attack, and then sent a gust of wind at the net, causing it to be cast aside and fall into the City below. The airbender looked down to watch the net fall into the shadows below, but what she found shocked her to the core.

As she leaned over the edge of the saddle, a boy in a familiar cap flew up into the air and landed roughly on his knees in the middle of Oogi's saddle. He looked slightly green and covered in soot. As he stood, Jinora saw his knees wobble slightly as he adjusted his cap.

Skoochy looked over at his airbender and grinned shakily. "Hey, Genie."

She gaped back at him when out of the corner of her eye she saw a black wire spiraling in curling blue snakes shoot out towards Skoochy. "Duck!" she yelled, and jumped onto the street urchin, causing him to fall and miss the electric wire by a few inches.

He looked straight up at her, his eyes wide for a moment, just a few inches from her brown ones. "Thanks for that."

Jinora was beginning to blush when she remembered—she was still at war. She bended herself up abruptly, and assessed the new situation she had found herself in as quickly as she could. Her father had abandoned his post as driver, and was sent whirling gusts of wind towards the gaining blimps. Her siblings, both once so brave, now sat in ice-cold fear. For once, Jinora was scared that her talkative little sister wasn't talking.

"Pema! Take the reins!" Tenzin was instructing his wife. She took Rohan in one arm onto Oogi's head and took the reins with the other, with firm hand and determined composure. For some reason this small gestured, the head held high, made Jinora's love grow even more for her mother and her confidence. Tenzin was supposed to be the strong parent, but compared to Pema, her father seemed full of hot air.

This warm feeling didn't last long. Jinora felt her father's hand pushed her down in a hurry, sending the clutch of fear to take hold of Jinora's heart; causing the metal net barely scrape against the top of her head as it passed the airbender and onto something else—Meelo.

"Daddy!" the young airbender screeched in a frightened voice.

"Meelo!" Tenzin shouted back, and sent an angry gust of air at the cord connected to the Equalist blimp, slicing the metal in two. Meelo collapsed back onto the saddle in a heap of netting and horror.

"MOVE!" Jinora heard Skoochy yell, and she complied. She watched as he took the net shot at her, spun it, and sent it flying back at the blimp like a hammer throw. The girl watched in amazement as the net collided with the nose of the blimp below, stopping the aerial machine in its tracks.

She looked back in wonder at the earthbender. He just winked back and adjusted his hat.

The air whirred and sparked, shadowing the fore-coming attacks. The airbender focused as hard as she possibly could, standing side-by-side with Skoochy. The next rounds of webs were injected into the bitter air, causing Jinora to narrow her eyes in preparation. With a single kick, the airbender sent the nets back towards the remaining blimp.

Skoochy grabbed the one his accomplice had missed out of the air, his quick reflexes enabling the boy to swing the net's force back from where it came.

But the team's success was short-lived. Neither bender was ready for a net to shoot past them and latch onto the ones Jinora was trying to protect.

Ikki held Meelo tight as the net was reeled back to the blimp. "NO!" Jinora screamed and sent a blast of wind at her captured siblings. The attack was lot on the Equalist advances, and Ikki and Meelo disappeared into the flying metal monster.

Jinora stopped feeling when the door closed over Meelo's wide blue eyes. The wind hissing in her ears silenced everything else, making her forget everyone still with her. Where had her father been when the web took them in its clutches? She thought numbly. The young airbender saw Pema scream; she was shouting Ikki's name, Meelo's name. Before Tenzin could stop the grief-stricken mother, she pulled Oogi around and headed straight for the enemy holding her babies.

The oldest daughter's vision blurred slightly as her teary eyes watched Skoochy shout her name and dive in front of her.

His pained screamed brought Jinora back. Wrapped around the street urchin's middle was a metal cord that was shocking him to the core.

"Skoochy!" she reached out to touch him with the same sort of metal cord latched into Jinora's hips and sent bolts of blue light up and down her body, racking the airbender with a never-before-experienced sting.

In her vision now fuzzy with pain, Jinora could make out her father suffering in the same way she and the earthbender were. She felt herself being pulled by the metal rope into the air and towards the blimp that had captured her.

Jinora didn't know where her parents had gone; she hadn't the strength to look up from her place in the sky where she was being reeled in to see. She hadn't a clue where she was going, where Ikki and Meelo were, or what was going to happen. She didn't know where Skoochy was, and that made her stomach lurch. He had come to help her, to save her, and in the end he wound up captured, just like the rest of them.

The airbender was yanked into a black box, and the door to the outside world was shut. The cord released and dropped Jinora onto the floor in a barely-conscious heap.

She looked up at the ceiling or as least where she_ thought_ the top of her cell was, and furrowed her brow. "I won't stop." She muttered, her words slurred from the hurting haze. "I will never stop." She said again, louder. "I will never stop fighting!" her voice bounced off the metal walls. "I will _never_ stop fighting you…" she whispered.

But despite her efforts, Jinora closed her eyes, letting defeated tears slip out, and unconsciousness slip in.

...

Skoochy woke up in a different cell from where he passed out. He sat up, feeling his sore muscles groan, and tried to ignore the throbbing in his temple. He noted the afternoon light creating stripes across the ground littered in straw. Instead, he decided to focus on the visitor in the shadows opposite of the earthbender.

Without a sound, the Lieutenant stepped forward and crouched down to Skoochy's level. The boy's whole body shook at the sight of him, something the strong, smart urchin never satisfied anyone with.

The Lieutenant rested his forearms on his thighs and grinned in an evil sort of way. "Remember me?"

And the problem was, Skoochy did.

* * *

Did you enjoy the first part? I hope so(: If you did, REVIEW pweeease.

And I'll get the 2nd part up as soon as I can! :D

Lurve you guyss


	6. Promises to Repay

Hey! Don't worry, this won't take very long. Just wanted to say a few things:

1st, I am soo sorry this took so long! Life gets in the way, you know? But the extra time just means I put a lot more work into this episode than most.

2nd, THANK YOU ALL MY LOVELIES. Over the past month, this one story has gotten over 2,000 views! go ahead. Clap for yourself, from me(:

Now onto the new chapter! ~~AgentAva

Disclaimer: All I own are my OC's. Big whoop.

* * *

Book 1 ¼: Between the Earth and Sky

Chapter 6: Promises to Repay

_Earth. Fire. Air. Water. 70 years ago, my grandfather, Avatar Aang, master of all four elements, ended the 100-year war against the Fire Nation. With help from Firelord Zuko he created Republic City, my home. According to my father, Republic City is at war. Amon, the Equalists, and the non-benders of our city have begun a rebellion against all benders. They think we have repressed them because of their inability to bend an element._

_Avatar Aang has long since passed, but the new Avatar is here—Korra. She will find a way to bring light to the darkness. She has to._

_..._

The dry air of his prison cell was suddenly wick with moisture and heat; the walls felt like they were closing in on Skoochy, suffocating him. The bender gulped down and tried to act smoother, calmer then he felt. Images of Liu swept through the floodgates of his rock-solid memory, causing the boy to be swept away.

_Rain pounded against Skoochy's frail frame as he stumbled into the nearest alley for some cover, his father's hat shielding his auburn eyes from the dark streets of Republic City. Shivering, the young boy bended up a small lean-to against one of the buildings and collapsed inside. His body began to rack with tears. Skoochy had no idea where he was—the downtown area of Republic City was unfamiliar to the 8-year-old. The rain bounced off the wall of his lean-to, making loud, sharp sounds, like daggers against a bull's-eye._

_The earthbender had left his father's boat at the pier, the knot lazy and forgotten in the continuing storm. The next time Skoochy went back to the dock, the boat wouldn't be waiting for him. Just like his father._

_Skoochy felt a hand on his head, the warmth penetrating his father's soaking hat. He looked up, his face streaming with tears, and asked in a broken voice, "Are-are you…?"_

_The right side of Liu's mouth twitched, causing droplets of water to fall from his moustache, and into the licking ball of flame in his hand, sizzling as the elements grazed each other. Extinguishing the light, he used both hands settled his damp gray coat on Skoochy's shoulders and helped him up. "Come on. Let's get you inside," Liu murmured, and led the boy into a nearby office. Gleaming over the mantle was the symbol of the Triple Threat Triad. There, Skoochy was dried and shut away in the janitor's closet for an empty night of downpour and pain. In the morning, Liu introduced the small earthbender to a fellow small earthbender by the name of Bolin. Before he left, Liu told Skoochy that one day the boy would have to repay him._

He just didn't think that that day would be today.

"So…I don't think you're here to catch up over a cup of tea, are you?" the usually sly dealer-of-secrets asked The Lieutenant lazily. Skoochy's best chance of getting out was acting casual, uninterested in anything Liu had to say.

"Unfortunately not today. But you are going to do something for me." The Lieutenant's deep voice echoed through the chamber. He leaned forward a little, so that his forehead just touched the bars of Skoochy's cell, and looked straight into the 12-year-old's eyes. Skoochy sat in the middle of the cell, nervously waiting for his fate to be served to him, via an old ally. "You are going to find Avatar Korra and tell her that Tenzin and the others got away."

The earthbender's eyes widened in confusion. He glanced into Liu's eyes. "What? I mean, now why would I do that?" He couldn't let down his guard now.

The Lieutenant's icy eyes narrowed at the boy, and he growled back, "Because she doesn't need to worry about them anymore." He stood quickly, and unlocked the padlock on Skoochy's cell. The earthbender scrambled up, not wanting the possibility of escape pass him by. As he passed Liu to exit, the man's hand grasped onto his shoulder and gripped tightly. "And if you don't, I will kill the rest of your little…_family_."

Skoochy's heart almost stopped cold. Imagining Mikah and Rai and Sage, lying on the ground, their bodies cold and unmoving—

No. He looked up into Liu's bitter eyes. "That's right, Skoochy. I know where they are. Don't think you could hide your weakness from me," he added when he saw the leader's face. "I know. And if you fail this small little task, well. Let's just say you don't want to know what'll happen to that tiny boy, or poor little _princess Mikah_." The man scoffed.

The street urchin's fists tightened. He looked up at Liu and focused his auburn eyes on the piece of material in-between his goggles. "She may act like one, yeah. But she. Is not. _A princess_." He muttered through clenched teeth.

"No. No, of course not." The Lieutenant complied mockingly, and released Skoochy from his grasp. "Little Mikah, from the Northern Water Tribe, isn't a princess. Just a runaway nobleman's daughter. Not a spoiled princess at all."

Nothing in Liu's voice or body language told Skoochy if he was lying, so that meant that he had to be telling the truth. Mikah? A noble water tribe girl? Is that why…the earthbender shook off the thought angrily. Liu was just trying to distract Skoochy from what was really going on.

And what was really going on was that the boy was stuck between the two things driving him. If Skoochy were to really find Mako and the Avatar again, then he and his crew were free, but Jinora and her family would end up getting hurt. Skoochy's stomach seized. He couldn't even bear to imagine Jinora getting hurt. But if Skoochy decided to save Jinora, then he wouldn't have any family to come back to when he fled the scene of the crime. The boy didn't want that to happen ever again. Instead, he looked up at Liu, a new tactic the reason behind the gleam in his eyes.

"May I speak with a friend before I go?"

"Would this friend be your airbending girlfriend?" The Lieutenant asked sarcastically.

"She's not my—"

"Fine. You can talk to her." Liu walked down the shadowed hall, Skoochy tentatively following behind, glancing around for any sort of escape route that could help him in any way. The only thing the boy found were different kind of jail cells—instead of the bars Skoochy had, these had metal doors and at least three different locks; obviously their tenants were more important than the street urchin. From the small windows on the doors, Skoochy walked passed Tenzin, alone in his cell, knocked out cold; across from him, Jinora's mother and a small bundle Skoochy assumed to be the new baby were lying quite still on the only cot. Next to Pema, Jinora's sister and the small bald boy sat, barely awake, in one corner, Ikki's arms wrapped around Meelo protectively.

Finally, Liu reached the remaining airbender's cell, and plucked a key from the ring on his belt. The Lieutenant swung the door open and glanced over at Skoochy, not a hint of emotion playing upon his face. "You've got five minutes."

With that, Skoochy rushed into the room, and knelt next to Jinora's cot. He heard the door swing shut behind him, and a single lock was turned. Focusing back to the other bender, Skoochy found that she was lying with her back facing the earthbender. "Jinora." Skoochy whispered.

...

In an instant she threw the boy against the wall with the force of a gust of wind. She bended herself up and stood over him with a horrific glare, her hair falling out of its bun and slight lavender bags sitting under her eyes. She was about to attack her intruder again, her fist coiled and ready to be sprung, when she stopped. "What? Skoochy?"

Her trespasser looked up through his bangs and rubbed the back of his head. "Jeez, Genie! It's only me."

"Oh spirits!" The airbender kneeled down next to Skoochy and wrapped her arms around him, tears leering behind her eyelids, her heart skipping a beat (or two) when he held onto her in return, as if she was his support, and he was hers. _Oh, thank the spirits he's okay._ "The rest of them," she murmured into his hair, her breath hot against his ear. She couldn't see it, but Skoochy was beginning to sprout a bright color red. "Are they alright?"

Skoochy, trying to release himself from Jinora's lingering hug, nodded and muttered back, "They're all fine. But we have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"I…" For a moment, looking into Skoochy's auburn eyes, she could almost see how Skoochy felt, how he wasn't so sure that he really wanted to go and perform the task thrown upon him. He thought that maybe he and the airbender could figure out a way to break out, to turn the rest of them loose, and skip free before The Lieutenant or Amon could find out what happened. They could wander the streets of Republic City, free, just like Skoochy and Rai used to do before—

Rai. Mikah. Sage. The emotion in his eyes shifted, the cloud cover of the people he cared for showing her the truth. He finally looked at Jinora, and blinked. "I have to go and tell Korra that you're all alright."

"But we're not!" she exclaimed, causing Skoochy to clamp a hand over her mouth.

"I know." He whispered urgently. "I know. But if I don't tell her that, then Liu…then The Lieutenant will kill Rai and the others, and I can't have that happen."

Jinora sat for a moment, her focus lingering on the ground, mulling over what was going on. If Skoochy did as he was told, and she was left here with the others, then Amon would surely take their bending away until there really were no more airbenders left. But if Skoochy stayed with her, then all of his friends she had met just a few days ago would be gone forever.

There, sitting on the dirty floor, littered with scrapes from past occupants and spirits know what else, Jinora made the decision for Skoochy, despite her having to be left behind and all of her heart telling her _no_.

"Go." The earthbender looked up, astonishment written upon his face. "Go. Tell Korra that we're alright. We will be."

Skoochy managed a nod.

"But promise me that if you leave, you'll come back for us." Jinora pleaded.

The Lieutenant swung the door open, the metal clanging against the wall. "Times up." His deep voice seemed to vibrate through the walls.

Starting to rise, the airbender reached up and grabbed onto her friend's hand, registering that his hand was so cold, but pushing the thought off as quick as it had come. "Promise!" she whispered, her entire body trembling for an answer.

The boy just looked down into her eyes, and peeled her grasp away, replacing his once astonished face with an unemotional one. "I promise." He mouthed back, turned and left the cell without a sound.

Jinora watched him go, anguish and relief fighting each other for space on her face. Her wide brown eyes watered as the door was shut and locked, leaving the young girl in darkness once more.

But she was not alone. The airbender had her questions to keep her company; only one stood out.

_It might have been the right thing to do, but was it the right thing to let him go?_ Because Jinora had a horrid gut-feeling that Skoochy wasn't coming back.

...

The misty midday light fell down from the open skylight above Mikah when she awoke. She tensed and glanced around the cottage on the outskirts of Republic City. Most of apprehension had come from another spirit dream Mikah had been lost in, causing the girl to clutch onto her hooked dagger in her sleep.

Sage had taken the morning watch, so she was stationed outside on the porch. Yawning, Mikah pulled her puffy hair into a ponytail and looked around the graying 1 bedroom/1 bath. Her gaze fell upon the equally gray lump on the couch. Her heart sank.

Mikah squatted down next to Rai, and touched a cold palm to his hot, sweaty forehead. The small boy hadn't woken up since the bomb exploded underneath him, and the temporary leader was getting nervous. What if he never woke up? It was, after all, her fault that Rai was lying on the loveseat, unconscious and hurt.

Using her ability to mimic voices, Mikah had yelled those foul things about Amon, and she had been cut short when she heard the racing _tick_ of the time bomb being catapulted from the blimp towards Rai. The non-bender couldn't bear to think about living in a world without her pranking companion, especially if his absence was her fault. The boy's long, shuddering breath reassured the water tribe girl that he was still alive, and she placed the cooling cloth back on Rai's forehead from where it had fallen the night before.

Wanting a little comedic relief from the attacks two days ago, Skoochy's non-existent return, Rai, and her dream world, Mikah melted into the shadows of the couch and reappeared in the dark of the porch, just behind Sage. Careful to not make a sound while exiting, the shadow-runner reached out to touch her friend when she paused. Mikah was going to use her ability to scare Sage, but with it being the cause of something so grief inducing, the nobleman's daughter instead grabbed onto the younger girl's shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Boo."

The cloaked girl jumped, and slammed her notebook shut in her lap. She looked back at Mikah, who looked happy to be laughing hysterically as she moved from the wall to lean against the porch railing. "That's not funny," Sage muttered.

"Oh, come on, you have to admit. It's pretty funny." Mikah rubbed the top of Sage's head affectionately as the younger slipped her notebook back into her cloak. As she smiled at her friend, Mikah shoved aside her angst; there was no point in harboring it around Sage. The secret-keeper had abandoned her quiet demeanor, seeing as how there were technically only the girls left. Mikah was the only one Sage felt comfortable talking around.

The cloaked one stood, and stepped into the cottage. "So who did you see this time?" she cut right to the chase; Sage knew that the only time Mikah tried to scare her was when she had a particularly rough visit to the home of the spirits.

This was Mikah cue to suddenly get very quiet. She closed the door behind her, undid her ponytail and redid it to keep herself occupied. Sage knew her well, but maybe not well enough. They had been trapped together for two days in the dusty cottage, but the shadow-runner hadn't told her about her constant remind of her guilt, and had a feeling she wasn't going to. Mikah's blue eyes latched onto the dusty wood floor. "I…remember Avatar Kuruk? He was the last waterbending Avatar before Korra. Anyways one of his most epic battles was between—"

"Mikah." Sage's voice cut through her chatter. The older looked up.

"Alright. Fine." With a huff, Mikah sat on top of the back of the armchair, and fell back onto the cushion so that her head fell backwards and her feet dangled aimlessly in the air. She peeked over at her confidant taking up the rest of the couch; Rai only took up half of the loveseat. "I saw Kuruk's lover meet Koh, and…I saw it take her face." Mikah shuddered. "It was…horrific."

"Do you wanna—"

"No. I really don't." Silence began to corrupt the flow of the conversation, causing it to halt completely except for the (thankfully) even breathing pattern of a certain street urchin. Suddenly, Mikah's ears twitched, something she had picked up from her times as a child prisoner of the spirit world. The sound of an engine, something up above, made the leader jump into action. She jumped up and took Rai in her arms, no longer concerned about the cloth she had placed upon his forehead not so long ago.

Sage instantly stood up after her. "What is it?"

The temporary leader closed her eyes and tried to focus. "It's…something in the sky. Something that can fly. But it's not an animal." If Mikah knew Sage like Sage knew the City's secrets, she knew the younger girl would know what it was.

"A dirigible?"

"No." Mikah closed her eyes tighter and tried to match something to the sound. It sounded a lot like…a Satomobile engine!

The shadow runner's eyes flew open. "It sounds like a Satomobile engine. But in the sky."

Sage ripped open her notebook and flipped through the pages of numerous secrets. "It's called a 'biplane.' It can fly."

"I can see that!" Mikah responded sarcastically. Instantly Sage's face showed a mixture of annoyance and hurt. Moving Rai to one arm, Mikah reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, something she had learned from her father before she was taken. "Look, I'm sorry. But we need to get out of here, and we don't have much time. If they can see everything from an aerial view, then they can probably see the cottage right _now_." She switched her gaze over to Sage and readjusted Rai once more so that he was on one hip. His head lolled about until it finally rested on her shoulder, his burning hot nose just touching the cool skin of Mikah's neck. "Leave Skoochy a note. Tell him we're headed towards our default meeting place, and to get his butt over there ASAP. No matter what, we are leaving tomorrow night."

"Default place, butts, leaving. Got it." Sage reported. She ripped the page of her notebook she had been scribbling on out, and set it on the coffee table. She stepped over to Mikah, who grabbed onto the girl's shoulder, pulled her into the shadows and disappeared, leaving only the jagged-edge piece of paper in the empty cottage.

...

"So they got away, is that right?" Mako repeated back to Skoochy, his voice oozing with suspicion. Bolin and the Avatar stood behind him, both imitating Mako's frown and raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Jinora's father told her to tell me to tell you that they're fine. Tenzin is probably dropping off the kids and Penny at the South Pole right now." Skoochy flashed the best convincing smile he could muster and pulled his cap down further over his face.

"You mean Pema?" Korra corrected the boy.

"Oh. Yeah, Pema." Skoochy revised. He pulled his father's cap even further down, to hide the liar's sweat bubbling up on his forehead.

This seemed to convince the Avatar, seeing as she backed down a little. But the fabulous bending brothers weren't so easily convinced. "And why exactly were you sent to deliver the message?" Mako demanded.

Skoochy had been taken from the clutches of The Lieutenant by two chi-blockers that promised to stick with the kid until he had found and delivered his message to the Avatar. The smart street urchin figured out that one of the chi-blockers was Mako way before The Lieutenant had even left the room. Liu had never been known for being a genius. Mako and Korra had brought the young boy back to the sewers, where they were hiding out until Tenzin sent word that he was coming back.

The nervous street urchin _was_ that word—at least a fake one. He hated to lie to his buddies, especially Mako and Bolin, since they seemed to know when he was lying. Skoochy only hoped that he could get away before the boys caught on.

"Then what were you doing with The Lieutenant?" Bolin asked, jabbing a finger lightly into Skoochy's chest. Skoochy, annoyed, bended up a wall between the two earthbenders, causing Bolin's finger to be crushed. The older screamed, and started to suckle on the throbbing finger. In return, he thrusted his heel into the ground, causing a rock pillar to erupt from the floor and into Skoochy's jaw.

Enraged, the younger boy rubbed his chin and stepped into a ready fighting stance. "You wanna go?"

Bolin took the finger from his mouth. "Yeah? Let's rock!" He assumed a stance similar to Skoochy's and bended up a chunk of earth larger than Skoochy's head into the air.

"BOYS!" Korra shouted. Both earthbenders looked over. "Can we focus on Tenzin and the children? Please?"

The older bender complied the first. He stood up straight and grinned at his friend. "Right! Of course. I'm just…gonna go check on Asami and the General." he nodded his head sheepishly, and stepped off and away, his fire ferret not far behind.

"So what were you doing with The Lieutenant?" Korra shuddered, and turned her attention back to Skoochy. "That creep." She muttered under her breath.

"Well, after I watched Tenzin go, I started…looking for you, to tell you the news, but I sort of ran into some Equalist trouble with a side of The Lieutenant." The informant scratched the back of his neck, trying to come off as sheepish. "He threatened to shock me if I didn't tell him who I was looking for, so I said I was looking for…Gommu. Yeah, Gommu." The old kook. Skoochy hoped that that would be enough of a cover-up for him to get out of the sewers and meet up with Mikah and the others.

"But I thought The Lieutenant said you had a message for the Avatar." Mako said, his voice gaining a suspicious tone with every word.

Skoochy faked a grin and started to back up. "No he didn't! He said Gommu—I'm sure of it."

There was a long pause as Mako just narrowed his eyes at Skoochy. The younger boy gulped. He needed to convince these two that he was telling the truth—the lives of the ones he was closest to depended on it.

Finally, Mako released a breath and smiled down at his old buddy. "Okay, you're right. I remember that he said Gommu. Sorry, Skooch."

The remaining earthbender grinned back and exhaled a breath he had no idea he had been holding in. "That's alright. Now, I would charge you for this information, but since it's important…I'll let it slide." Skoochy looked up through his bangs slyly.

"Oh thank you. I wasn't sure I had enough on me to pay for the message." Mako played along. Skoochy figured that secretly, his old friend was thankful for something to laugh about during such dark times.

"Well, I'd best be off. I need to catch up with the rest of them before Mikah cuts my head off." Skoochy saluted Korra and Mako with two fingers, turned, and left the sewer complex. Walking out of the now not-so-secret entrance, he pulled his hat down over his eyes at the sight of a familiar shadow hiding in the bushes as a sudden wind storm began to rack through the City. "It's done." Skoochy muttered, his voice broken. He refused to look over.

"You are free to go." The earthbender could almost imagine Liu grinning in that evil way of his. It made him shudder just thinking about it.

As Skoochy ran off down the street, careful to keep his cap firmly on his head, he couldn't help but hold back the feeling that he had severed the ties he might need later in his life. But the boy knew it had to be done, and kept running.

...

Pushing the door to the cottage open, Skoochy slammed the door to the arctic midnight air behind him and collapsed on the couch, exhausted from his non-stop run from Republic City to the cottage on its outskirts. His hat flopped down over his face, blocking the earthbender's view of the graying room. "Oh spirits, you guys. That was exhausting."

No response.

Skoochy sat up, and his cap fell from his face. He glanced around. The cottage was empty. "No…" the boy's eyes widened in horror. He jumped up and looked around the entire cottage, just to confirm that he was still alone. Finally, Skoochy's eyes caught on to the torn-up piece of paper of the table. He picked it up and cussed out loud. How could Sage forget that he _couldn't read_?

After an hour of broken reading and spelling it out, Skoochy finally got the main points. "Go default meet ASAP. We leave…tomorrow night. Butts." Skoochy ripped his gaze from the paper and onto the window, where just through the dust he could see the faint glow of Republic City.

Getting up, Skoochy tucked the paper into his vest, tidied up the borrowed cottage a little bit, and closed the door behind him. For a moment, the earthbender just stood on the porch, staring blankly out at Republic City as he thought hard about his next decision.

If he didn't go now, he would miss Mikah and the others at their next meeting place. But what about his promise to Jinora? Skoochy's heart ached a little at the thought of her. He hadn't been thinking of her at all during any of the day's events. The street urchin had made a promise, and a promise is a promise. But what about the rest of his family? He couldn't just abandon them like he had the day before. Or maybe, was it two days ago? Skoochy wasn't sure. All he was sure of was what he was going to do.

A single tear trailed from Skoochy's auburn eyes as he looked back out at Republic City. "I'm sorry, Jinora."

He turned away from the City, and began hiking his way towards the next meeting place. It took all of his self-control to keep from looking back.

* * *

Soooo? What did you think? Aangsty Skooch and Mikah...so much dramatizing fun...AND BOLIN!~

Oh my glob I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

(And next episode, we get to meet Mikah's father and get a background on the_ princess_ ;P)

HEY I JUST MET YOU REVIEW PLEASE? -haha, not exactly the songwriting type, sorry c:


	7. Like the Seasons

Satisifed writer is satisifed.

Hey you reader! Welcome to the last last and very last episode of this fanfictional Jinoochy story(: I'm sorry its so long, but trust me, I love this episode A LOT so its worth it!

**Before you start reading**, let me just say once more THANK YOU! without your reviews and views and follows and favorites this story wouldn't have gotten so far without you :3 you special people.

So lots of angst in this one, be ready to "awwww" your hearts out! (hopefully, anways, if i did my job right) And even if this is the end, if I get enough reviews AND views I'll continue it in another story and I'll keep you updated on it :D BUT ONLY IF YOU REALLLLY WANT IT(;

Ok. Writer is done talking now. Scroll down and read on my lovelies!

~~AgentAva

* * *

Book 1 ¼: Between the Earth and Sky

Chapter 7: Like the Seasons

_Earth. Fire. Air. Water. 70 years ago, my grandfather, Avatar Aang, master of all four elements, ended the 100-year war against the Fire Nation. With help from Firelord Zuko he created Republic City, my home. According to my father, Republic City is at war. Amon, the Equalists, and the non-benders of our city have begun a rebellion against all benders. They think we have repressed them because of their inability to bend an element._

_Avatar Aang has long since passed, but the new Avatar is here—Korra. She will find a way to bring light to the darkness. She has to._

…

The bitter wind rising from the ice chewed on Jinora's cheeks and spit them back out a bright red as she stared out at the vast snow before her. She snuggled deeper into her heavy robes and tried to ignore the aching thoughts in the back of her head as she watched Korra jump onto her polar bear-dog and gallop off into the tundra of the Southern Water Tribe.

Amon had lost. Korra had exposed him; she had saved Jinora, her siblings and her father from the Equalists. But along the way, the Avatar had lost her ability to bend three of the four elements, and now she felt broken inside. Jinora felt the same way.

The airbender, along with the rest of her family, were safe and residing with Gran-Gran until they figured out what to do about Korra's lack of bending. Jinora was content being away from Republic City for a while, but she wasn't happy.

_He had promised_, she thought acidly, and narrowed her brown eyes to no one in particular. She crossed her arms and trudged back up to the lodge where everyone else was, not thinking clear enough to just airbend herself up the stairs and into the warmth. Out of the corner of her eye, Jinora saw Mako and her father exchange few words out in the cold, probably regarding Avatar Korra.

Slamming the door behind her, the airbender nonchalantly dumped her heavy robes onto the floor and, keeping her gaze on the floor before her, navigated her way to an empty seat next to Asami and flopped down in a heap of hurt feelings and sore appendages. Jinora had never really cared for the beautiful Miss Sato, but for the moment, the younger girl had different things to think about. For what seemed like an eternity the quiet bookworm just sat and thought of how _he_ had betrayed her, betrayed his word, broken a promise he had sworn so gallantly to keep, given the circumstances. Without realizing it, the girl had clenched her fists and teeth so tight that her couch-mate had taken notice.

"You too, huh?" Asami tossed out her comment leisurely, and glanced over at Jinora out of the corner of her eyes.

Coming back to the real world, the airbender looked over at Asami and managed a half-nod. She had forgotten that she was still in the company of many others, and didn't know what kind of emotions had waltzed upon her face, enlightening the ones around her as to what was on her mind. Jinora pulled her legs up so she sat in a meditative position, set her elbow on her knee, and balanced her cheek on top with a sigh that blew her bangs up.

The airbending 10-year-old felt her companion smile perceptively. "I know how it feels." The older stretched out in her seat in a very unladylike manner, lacing her reaching hands and shooting her long legs straight out. Jinora managed to sneak a sideways glance at Asami as she finished stretching and returned her attention to the smaller of the two. "So tell me. What happened?"

Jinora opened her mouth, ready to let her uncut, unedited story loose on someone else, when she stopped. For the glimpse of a moment, the younger of the girls thought that maybe Asami wouldn't understand her problem with him and her odd way going about things. She took a long hard look at the non-bender, and realized that she was going through the same sort of thing Jinora was. Under her companion's eyes usually laced with optimism and sincerity, confusion lurked, obscuring anything Asami saw and turning it into a sight to be skeptical of. _Thank you Hiroshi and Mako._

This was how Jinora knew that she could be trusted. She drew in air, ready to relieve herself of the troubles that had been haunting her every minute for the past few days. "Do you remember your cloak that went missing a few weeks back?"

…

The waves crashed loudly against the shore as Skoochy looked over the beach from his hill. It had taken him all day, but he had finally made it to Mikah's default meeting place. As the earthbender surveyed the area, he noticed two familiar-looking dots side by side in the sand. One was sitting down, drawing something in the sand with a stick, and the other stood over her, looking out over the water and the sinking sun while her hands rested on her hips.

Smiling to himself in relief, Skoochy started down the hill, glad to know that his crew was safe. When he set foot on the sand, the standing girl twitched and turn to face the sound of someone moving. Her mouth fell open, then quickly shut again. Her face shimmered slightly in the dying sun, as if she was talking to the sitting girl, and her friend turned. Unable to keep a smirk off his face, Skoochy walked over to the girls and stopped a few feet from them. "Well," he started, tugging on his hat. "I made it."

Mikah ran the short distance towards her dear friend and hugged him tight. "Oh thank the spirits you're alright!" she exclaimed. The water tribe girl was close to tears, Skoochy could feel it through the slight tremble in her shoulders. "We thought…we thought you were captured or…worse." Mikah's voice caught at the end of the sentence, unable to face the possibility of her oldest partner-in-crime being in any sort of pain.

"Um…" Skoochy lifted one of his hands to scratch the back of his neck uncomfortably as he remembered the marks from the electric ropes burned into his torso. "I sort of did…get captured."

Instantly the taller girl broke away, fury rising in her blue eyes. She gripped his shoulders tightly and shook him like a doll. "Are you freaking kidding me?!" she shouted in his face, making Skoochy's ears ring. "Are you _crazy_?! You could've been…! I can't believe you…you are just so…!" Mikah shoved Skoochy aside and stalked off. "Ridiculous!" She shouted over her shoulder. "You are RIDICULOUS!"

Grinning to himself, Skoochy was secretly glad that someone cared about his safety like Mikah did. Sage stood behind him, and looked up into his eyes with her violet ones. "She'll come around. She's just glad you're safe."

"In her special Mikah way." The earthbender mused. "By the way, since when could you talk?"

Sage just shrugged, and began walking in the opposite direction of Mikah. "Since forever. I just figured that since Rai's still out, Mikah would need someone to talk to. And you know, I kinda like talking." The small girl said with a grin, and pulled her hood off her face, revealing her ever pale skin and pulled-back hair.

As soon as Skoochy was just starting to feel safe, his smile faded, and his heart began to panic. "What? What do you mean he's still out?"

His remaining friend turned to face her leader. "He still hasn't woken up." Her voice lowered. "He's still breathing, but Rai's out cold. I don't know how he can go that long, but—" Skoochy couldn't bear to hear anymore about his fallen soldier, and started sprinting towards the cave Sage was leading him to. As he ran, sand sprang to life and left a trail of shifted mounds behind him. Sage sighed, and rushed after him.

Inside the cave, Skoochy stopped at the entrance, and peered at the body on the side, Rai's hands curled together over his slowly moving chest. At least he was breathing. Stooping low on his knees to check his forehead, Sage appeared next to her leader and put a cold hand on his shoulder. "You shouldn't touch him." Her voice was quiet, almost silent. Skoochy felt his hand shake, just inches from Rai. His tough little urchin, the most outgoing, the most insecure. It drained the energy from him just to see the tiny boy this way. "Tonight, Mikah's going to shadow-run all of us to her old home. There the healers will do whatever they can to help Rai. But until then, she says we can't touch him. Something about his body and spirit being ruptured."

Gulping down his objections, Skoochy knew that Mikah was right…somehow. He withdrew his hand and sat back on his toes. "Now what?" he asked, not being able to tear his gaze of guilt from Rai. While he had been running, the earthbender had only been thinking about two things: the possibility of Rai's injuries being his fault, and Jinora.

Careful to lay her cloak out behind her as she sat, Sage slipped her arm around her leader's comfortingly and rested her cheek on the boy's shoulder. Ever since the orphanage, Sage had always found solace in the only brotherly figure she had ever known but now, he had to find it in her.

"We wait."

…

The night was pitch black, with only Yue's smile to guide the way. The moon set a strip of white light upon the sea, stretching as far as Skoochy could see. He carried Rai on his back, the burning up little boy creating a thick layer of sweat between him and his carrier. Sage stood on one side of him, Mikah on the other. The younger girl was right; Mikah did come around, faster than the earthbender anticipated. She had built a large bonfire on the beach, and it towered a good 10 feet over Skoochy.

"The fire generates enough power for me to take all four of us back home, and creates a shadow big enough for us, too." She had explained when she commanded Sage and Skoochy to go and fetch firewood. That had taken the rest of the night to do, but finally, the shadow-runner was ready, and she clenched onto Skoochy's shoulder tightly. He cringed a little—her welcoming "hug" from earlier had left a few more bruises across his skin. Sage linked her arm with the leader's left.

"Everyone ready?" Mikah asked, her eyes closed in preparation for the journey ahead. She had never taken a trip through the shadows this vast before; the girl needed all the preparation she could get.

Skoochy closed his eyes tightly, and felt Sage's grip tighten around his arm. The two tag-along travelers could barely nod before Mikah stepped into the shadow portal and tugged the other three along. Behind his eyelids Skoochy saw a vibrant array of lights shower across him; he could feel the temperature plunge around him; he could feel Sage's arm tighten around his as they continued through the shadows to their destination. Suddenly something cold crunched beneath their feet, instantly causing Skoochy's peeking toes to numb. He opened his eyes and they were there.

Mikah released herself from Skoochy and stumbled over the ice to the nearest wall of snow, and leaned against it, gasping for air; she had drained herself of energy from the journey, and now the water tribe girl looked as if she hadn't slept in years; her skin had been sucked of color, leaving the shadow-runner pale as the snow surrounding her. Sage had also broken away from the two boys and gaped up at the ice structures around her, her violet eyes shimmering slightly in the moonlight. "Where are we?" the younger girl breathed, causing puffs of air to escape her mouth.

It took the shadow runner a few moments, but she managed to catch her breath, and pulled a rope hanging from her the large house she was leaning against. A bell was sounded, and a door was heard opening somewhere behind Mikah. The water tribe girl smiled up at her friends and said, "Welcome to the Northern Water Tribe."

The door creaked open behind her. "Who dares to ring the bell while the Master's asleep! You kids…" a man appeared in his nightgown, obviously angered, until he looked down at Mikah. He stopped in his tracks. "Miss…Mikah?" his voice was just above a frightened whisper. "Oh spirits!" the man turned back to the house. "Master! It is Mikah!" he yelled.

"Your daughter has returned!"

…

Having been too tired to make the mile trip to Gran-Gran's house that night, Jinora curled up against Asami on the couch and closed her eyes. It had taken a while, but the young airbender had finally told the whole story to the older girl; they had sat on the couch for hours, not moving, just talking, and after Jinora was done, she couldn't help but feel released from a heavy burden. Asami had listened intently, nodding when she understood, commenting when she saw fit. In the end, the non-bender had to disagree with her friend. "I don't really think you should be mad at Skoochy. I mean, if it was between him and your family, who would you choose?"

"…my family," Jinora muttered uncomfortably. The non-bender did have a point. If it was between Skoochy and her family, she would undeniably pick her siblings any day. "But he did abandon his family to save me." The airbender couldn't help to point out.

Asami flipped her hair over her shoulder and grinned. "He's a gentleman—you have to give him that."

"I guess you're right…" Jinora glanced up at her new acquaintance, a glow in her eyes. "So what about you and…you-know…?" she pointed at Asami's ex-boyfriend with her eyes. Mako was sitting with Avatar Korra on the couch opposite of the gossiping girls, making "lovey-dovey" faces at her and speaking in a low voice. Asami narrowed her eyes at the couple, and turned away in disgust.

"What's there to tell? We broke up, he's with Korra now, end of story." The non-bender held her arms tightly to her body, as if trying to catch herself from falling. Her bottom lip quivered slightly. "I'm strong. I'll get over it. I always do." There was a moment of just silence between the two, with Asami just staring at her boots and trembling slightly. Finally, she looked up, the light returning to her eyes. "Besides, this you and Skoochy thing is _way_ more exciting than my problems."

The airbender just shrugged and blushed. "I guess…" from then on, the two lovesick girls just sat in silence, leaning against each other like they were the only people they could depend on in the world.

…

_Liu was right_, Skoochy thought as he looked around Mikah's house in awe. There were candelabras in every room, along with fur rugs and paintings of a family of three. On every wall there was a large poster of Mikah as a little girl, with the words **MISSING** on bold over it. Mikah's rich father was a middle-aged man with broad shoulders and graying hair tinted with the same color as Mikah's hair. His blue eyes so like his daughter's twinkled when he looked down at his long-lost daughter. The story was, Skoochy had just found out, that when Mikah was 7-years-old, an angered spirit took Mikah from her home and into the Spirit World. Her mother had tried to protect little Mikah, and that was what had gotten her killed. For 8 years her father looked for his daughter, but could never find her, and thought she was dead.

Of course, Mikah wasn't. She roamed the Spirit World as a "pet/prisoner" for the spirits for five long years, and she actually grew to care for her friends. They took care of her and taught her how to shadow-run, among other things. But after five years the spirits tired of Mikah, and tossed her out. She didn't return to the Northern Water Tribe, like what was supposed to happen. Instead, she was mistakenly thrown into Republic City, amongst the streets and ever-changing weather. For a year Mikah learned to live on her own, hone in her shadow-running abilities until the day she was strong enough to take herself home.

After that year was up, she met Skoochy.

"Wow." Skoochy took a sip of the tea the butler had brought. It was warm, and the earthbender was glad to have something to warm him up. "I can't believe you never told us about the Spirit World."

Mikah just shrugged, as if it was no big deal. She was curled against her long-lost father on the couch opposite, a "shock blanket" set on her shoulders and a shaking teacup in her hand. She still looked exhausted, Skoochy noted, but at least she was warm. "It wasn't really important to know about _that_ in Republic City. There, the pace is too fast to care about things like spirits or anything like that. So I stopped worrying about it, and I didn't want you to worry, either."

After the butler had let Skoochy's gang inside, she and her amazed father had embraced, leaving Sage and Skoochy in the doorway, shocked. They thought that no one had any parents left. They thought wrong.

Carefully putting down his tea, the earthbender coughed slightly, drawing attention to himself. "I don't mean to kill the moment, but what about Rai?" he gestured to the boy taking up half an armchair on his own, still as stone and breathing deeply.

Sage sat silently next to the youngest boy, her teacup trembling in her hands. "He needs a healer." She piped up, her voice unusually high. _Or a miracle_, Skoochy refrained from adding.

The man of the house nodded gravely. "We need to get him to a healer immediately." He turned to his butler yawning in the doorway. "Can you fetch the best healer we have?" the servant nodded mid-yawn, and stepped out.

"Thank you." The earthbender bowed his head respectfully. Soon after, two men and a stretcher appeared, lifted Rai onto it, and disappeared with him. Skoochy refused to move from his seat, despite how much both girls insisted that he needed sleep. At some point Sage came and sat next to him; she later left with Mikah, to speak quietly in the hallway. The boy thought he heard his name, but was too numb to do anything about it. Skoochy couldn't move from his seat; the emotional stress and fatigue begged him to, but all he could do was stare ahead, his mind swimming with thoughts of Rai and Jinora. Jinora and Rai. His two ghosts for the time being; his father had been temporarily pushed out of the picture. Finally, morning came, and one of the men with the stretcher came back to report their findings.

"We tried everything we could to wake up the boy, but we could not. I'm afraid that he has fallen into a deep coma, and we don't know when he'll wake up; it could be years, for all we know."

Mikah stifled a cry by pressing a hand to her mouth. Sage let tears roll freely down her face, and her shoulders shook uncontrollably. Skoochy was too much in shock to do anything. He just sat on the couch and gripped the arm of it with all his might, just as he had done all night.

_It could be years, for all we know…_

Rai…was he ever coming back? Without realizing it, Skoochy began pounding at the furniture with his fists, bending up rocks all over the room, making them erupt through the ice, taking out his frustration on all the inanimate objects of the room. This made Sage cry even harder; she ran out of the room in fear. Mikah just stood there, in a daze, watching Skoochy destroy everything in her father's living room. Tears began to well up in the bender's auburn eyes.

Slowly, not looking up from the ground, Mikah began to move towards the out-of-control leader, his tears reflected in her eyes. She stood behind him, rocks bursting up from the ground around her, and reached forwards to take his left hand in hers. He stopped, and looked back at his most loyal friend, his right-hand man. Skoochy let the tears roll down his face, defeated.

He fell into her open arms and hugged her tightly, and cried into her chest in a way that he had never done before. Later, Skoochy would guess that if he had a mother, he would've done the same to her. Mikah set her cheek upon his head and let him cry out his pain as she wept silently with him, tears making wet spots on his cap.

…

It had been three days since the healers had taken Rai away, to be looked over at the tribe's infirmary. Every day, guided by Mikah's father Mukluh, the three remaining street urchins visited the boy in his hospital bed, the sheet pulled up to his armpits, his arms lying unmoving at his sides. Bandages had been wrapped around Rai's head, covering his jet black bangs. His mouth was hanging open, letting him breathe in the cold air of the water tribe. Every 30 minutes a healer would come into the room and check up on the boy. But still he did not wake up.

In the meantime, the noble Mukluh generously bought Sage and Skoochy thick fur coats, a new notebook for Sage, and koala-otter fur boots for Skoochy. He had offered to buy the boy a new hat, seeing as his old one was dusty and ragged, but Skoochy refused politely. He wasn't about to give up his father's cap—and the bender doubted he ever would.

Mikah was showing Skoochy around the Northern Water Tribe she remembered. Sage had refused to go back out into the cold. "It's freezing out there!" she had exclaimed. "If you don't mind, I'm just going to stay here with your dad. He said he needed a transcriber for his work."

The nobleman's daughter was walking on the wall of a bridge, with Skoochy safely trekking on the actual bridge. She laughed to herself when she almost fell off, just to jump backwards onto the bridge and land lightly on her feet. Skoochy kicked a pile of fresh snow with his foot, sending it away. "I hate the snow," he grumbled, not for the first time.

"Oh, but it's so fun to play in!" Mikah squealed in delight. "And sometimes, when it snows enough, we can make little snow people and have snowball fights and then come back home to warm up and have tea!" She glanced over at her friend and stopped in her tracks. Her lit up face fell. "What's wrong?"

Skoochy turned his face away so that she couldn't see him wipe a burning hot tear escape. "I hate the snow," he repeated. "I mean, I can't bend or anything! This is the worst possible place for an earthbender." He crossed his arms like a little kid and frowned. It was an excuse and he knew it, and so did Mikah.

"For goodness sake, Skoochy! You've been sulking around since we got here. I know we're all a little high strung because…" she couldn't even bear to say his name, so she cast it aside and moved on. "…but that doesn't mean you have to be such a butthead!" Mikah finished indignantly.

And she was right. Skoochy had been acting very un-leaderly ever since the North Pole. He had been unstable and weak and basically pissing off anyone within a three mile radius. Sage was afraid to be in the same room with him. The leader wasn't supposed to act so irrationally, but for the past five days he hadn't slept a wink, and that made him unhinged. If he wasn't thinking about Rai, asleep in his hospital bed on the other side of the city, then Skoochy was wondering about Jinora. He had caught the news that Avatar Korra had finished off Amon, or "Noatak," and she had saved the airbenders from Amon. He had also heard that she had lost her bending abilities to Amon, but now she had them back.

"Helloooo? Skoochy?" Mikah waved a hand in front of his vacant face, making the boy come back to his senses—and the icy temperature of the real world. He looked over at her, and finally began to realize how worried Mikah was, for his sake. Just visible in the high noon sun, Skoochy noticed small rings under her eyes and her disheveled face. Apparently she hadn't been sleeping too well, either.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, also not for the first time. "It's just—"

"Just what?" Mikah cut in, her voice soft. Behind Skoochy, two people in fur coats walked past, causing him to turn on his heel and fall into a fighting stance, ready to fight off someone that could hurt him or his crew.

_Wait._ His crew wasn't even together anymore. Skoochy had helped with that. Ignoring the faces he got from the passing men, the bender returned to his leisured position to find Mikah staring at him. "What?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"No," the truth slipped out before Skoochy could stop it. He cupped his hands over his mouth, as if hoping that the word would somehow just crawl back into his mouth and stay there.

Mikah waited for him to continue; she sat down in the middle of the bridge cross-legged, waiting for an explanation with a curious expression. Another group of people walking by had to part to accommodate for the girl sitting on the bridge. They tossed her snide looks before leaving. She stuck her tongue out to their backs in response, and returned her attention back to Skoochy. "So? Are you gonna tell me, or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?" she asked playfully, and pounded a fist against her hand for emphasis.

"I—I just…" exhausted, the bender flopped down across from his best friend and rested his cheek on his fist. He pulled his cap down before speaking. "I wonder how she's doing."

"Jinora?" Mikahs's blue eyes widened. "But why? She's fine now—they said so on the radio the other night."

"I know!" the boy said exasperatedly. "That's not what I meant. I just…I wonder how _we _are going to be when we meet again. I mean, I made a promise I didn't keep, and it's tearing me apart, and I think its doing the same to her, too." Instantly Skoochy felt something relax inside him. Now that his troubling thoughts were out in the open, there was no taking them back. But his body told him that that was okay, in the way that it involuntarily loosened up.

After a minute Mikah's face brightened and she snapped her fingers. (Skoochy wasn't quite sure how she could do that with such thick gloves on, but at the moment he didn't have time to ask.) "I got it!" she exclaimed, and bounced up, making the ice bridge rock. She took Skoochy's arm and ran off, the boy just keeping up behind her.

"Wheeeeeere aaaaare weeeeee goooooing?" the earthbender shouted, barely keeping up with the reenergized Mikah as she ran through the city blocks.

"We need a big fire and a bigger shadow!" the shadow-runner yelled over her shoulder gleefully. "I know what we're gonna do—we are going to take you to her!"

…

The sun was setting over Jinora's fifth day at the South Pole. Tomorrow, her father was going to take her family, back to Republic City. Korra said that she was going to stay back for a few days, to reconnect with her parents and regale them with her stories about the City she had made her home.

Carefully laying her books back in their bag, Jinora finally finished packing and flopped down on her bed in Gran-Gran's home. After Korra had rediscovered her bending, there had been a big feast, and everyone had had at least three bowls of water tribe noodles. Bolin had been retching up the green things for days; the airbender found that he couldn't hold his noodles for very long. Asami, on the other hand, chowed down five bowls without even breaking a sweat—another thing Jinora had found to admire in her new friend. She had found consolation in the 18-year-old from Skoochy, and Asami had found optimism about her situation in Jinora. She had decided to go back to Future Industries and start rebuilding the traitor company. The non-bender had left with the fabulous bending brothers a day before on a cargo ship, ready to pick up the pieces that her father had dropped. Before leaving, Asami had hugged Jinora and said, "As soon as I clean up the mess Father has made, I'll let you come over and see the company. And I can tell you now—it's nothing like the factories you've read about." The woman grinned, took her things, and boarded the ship.

Jinora looked out of the window, and heard her siblings playing in the snow in the background. In the room across from hers and Ikki's, the girl could hear her parents cuddling Rohan and cooing his name. All of a sudden everything went quiet, and for the first time in five days, Jinora could finally think.

Asami had said to just let her anger go. It wasn't right to be mad at someone if they made a decision you would've made, too. But even though she had tried, Jinora just couldn't get over the fact that Skoochy had _abandoned_ her. Despite what he had promised, despite what he had told her, he still left her. And that hadn't just angered the level-headed airbender; no, it had clawed out her insides and thrown her heart to the wasp-vultures and then punched her in the gut for good measure. It had torn her apart, and Jinora couldn't quite pinpoint exactly _why_.

All she knew was that she was hurting. And she was hurting bad.

Suddenly, there was a crash in the room next door that made the airbender sit bolt right on the bed. She heard someone cuss, but their voice was muffled by the wall between them. Cautious in her step, Jinora bended herself up and crept out of her room. As she left, she looked across at her parents. It seemed as if they hadn't heard a thing. Now even more wary, the bender stepped into the doorway and listened.

Somewhere in the dark, she heard a vaguely familiar voice whine, "Why are there shadows everywhere? I can't—I can't find the exit! Skoochy, you have to find the light switch."

_Skoochy!_ Jinora felt her heartbeat jump tremendously.

"But if I let go I'm gonna get sucked in!" his voice sounded.

"Oh I hate these stupid shadows," the girl muttered.

Reaching over to the light switch, Jinora flicked it on and instantly Mikah and the cause of the airbender's pain fell on their knees in the middle of the storage room, looking relieved and in a little bit of pain. Scattered around them was an overturned box and a mess of packaged noodles. Leaning against the doorframe, the girl crossed her arms and looked over the mess before her. "You know you're gonna have to clean this up, right?"

Mikah ignored Jinora's comment and stumbled over to the nearest wall, and leaned against it, breathing heavily. "Don't…don't mind me. I'm just…so tired…" she managed through her panting. From the doorway, the airbender could see her eyelids slipping lower and lower.

Rushing over, Jinora bended a ball of air to catch Mikah when she fell. And the shadow-runner did; before she hit the air she was already asleep. Keeping the ball floating, the bender turned to face Skoochy, and tried to suppress the blush rising in her cheeks. "What do I do?"

He readjusted his cap and smirked a little. "Let her sleep, of course. She just took us from the North Pole to…here, so she'll probably be out until tomorrow." He looked around the closet. "Where are we, anyways?"

Groaning slightly, Jinora bended the knocked out girl out the room and into hers, where she laid the water-tribe girl on her bed and shut the door. Finally she turned and looked up into Skoochy's auburn eyes. She unconsciously lifted her head to make herself feel taller, and crossed her arms. "What're you doing here?"

Skoochy grinned. "I think I asked first."

"Southern Water Tribe. Now what are _you_ doing _here_?" she emphasized the words, hoping to make a point.

"Just thought I'd drop in."

"Yeah, right." Jinora couldn't help but snort at this. He came from the other side of the world just to _drop in_?

"Alright, you got me." Skoochy scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed, and slid down the wall to sit in the middle of the hallway. Jinora followed suit, plopping herself down next to him with an irritated look still set upon her face. "I came to see you." He blurted out.

This actually surprised the airbender, and she turned to face him. "What?" she managed to say as she felt her face become hot.

"Uh…yeah. I just wanted to tell you that I…that Rai got hurt." Jinora felt the heat leave her face. From the change of his voice, she could tell that this wasn't what he wanted to tell her, but he was still upset by the news nonetheless.

"Oh. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah. The healers said something about how he might never wake up."

This brought the pinprick of tears to the airbender's brown eyes. She remembered the boy on the rooftop with his toothy grin and lack of height. That poor kid… "Is that all?" she asked, trying to shake away the new ache in her throbbing heart.

"I—no! No that's not. I also wanted to say…that I…I am so sorry." He confessed, his eyes beginning to shimmer. It was all coming out now. "I made that promise to you and I…I broke it. And I…I just…I kind of just wanted to…" Skoochy tried to start the next sentence many times, but couldn't seem to get the words out of his mouth.

Inside, Jinora felt as if she could airbend herself into the air and never come back down. And in reality, she wanted to, but she knew that would be kind of rude. She wasn't about to pull what Korra did to Mako. She wasn't going to run away. She wasn't the type.

Instead, the girl took Skoochy's hand in hers. It was cold, but that was okay. It was the South Pole, after all. She met his eyes and said in a low voice, "I know."

Before she knew it, the boy had pulled Jinora into a hug. She felt small drops of warm tears fall onto her shoulder, but she didn't care. She didn't hug him back, either.

Skoochy felt this, released Jinora and studied her face. "But you can't forgive me, can you?" he asked tentatively, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

She shook her head a little, tears obviously welling in her eyes. "I'm sorry too, but—"

"No! No. I understand." And Skoochy did. It was going to take a while to forgive himself, too. It was going to take a while to learn to live without Rai being _there_, and it would take longer to learn how to forget about Jinora, if that was what she wanted, because at this point, whatever she wanted from Skoochy, he would've done, no hesitation. That was how life was for Skoochy, so if that was what had to be done, he would do it. Whatever it took, he would find a way. "You don't have to forgive me." He gave voice to part of his thoughts.

Jinora looked up from drying her eyes, shock consuming her face. "That's not what I meant! I just…I'm confused. About a lot of things."

The earthbender couldn't help but chuckle. "Join the club." His companion laughed too. For a minute they just sat side by side, leaning against the wall, watching the sun drop outside the window. Finally, he looked over at Jinora out of the corner of his eyes. "So…are we…okay?" he asked quietly, timidly. This time the question was different from all his hesitant questions. This time he wanted to know the answer; for the first time, he wasn't afraid of it.

Shifting her gaze to Skoochy, Jinora gave him a little smile and nodded a little. She slipped her hand into his, and they returned to watching the sunset from their spot in the hallway. They stopped talking, and everything was silent around them. There was nothing else to distract the two as they watched the color of the sky change from orange to red to pink to purple. As Skoochy sat, he cherished the quietness he shared with Jinora. It was different from the strained silences he had had to live through; it was sweet, simple, peaceful. It was different.

That was when Skoochy realized that nothing was ever going to be the same. But everything was going to be okay.

He was sure of it.

* * *

Thanks for reading dears! Hope you L-O-V-E loved it as much as i loved writing it.

Tell me if you want a continuation or not! :3

author OUT

PS if you got the reference of the chapter title, 10 POINTS TO DUMBLEDORE haha :D


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